Mismanagement: Rats appreciate undistributed goods

Relief goods stored in tents for flood victims have started rotting.

GILGIT: A large quantity of relief goods meant for the flood-hit people of Gilgit-Baltistan that were stored in tents for the last few months have started rotting, sources told The Express Tribune on Monday.

“They include oil, biscuits, sugar and flour, which  are now decaying in tents set up by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other makeshift arrangements in Gilgit and Ghizer and other districts,” said a source, adding that delay in distribution was the reason. He said that rats have gone through the items in the WFP depot in Lalik Jan Stadium, Jutial.

The Express Tribune learnt that though WFP and other organizations working in Gilgit-Baltistan have been doing their part in distribution, a major chunk of relief goods are still lying in tents in Jutial, Gilgit and other districts due to lack of interest shown by government officials at the helm of affairs.

They said that since the administration is involved in the distribution, it can be held responsible for not working quickly enough. “People are crying for assistance but the situation here is that items are rotting away,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2011.