Acute shortage of essentials in Kashmir valley

Srinagar, Aug 26 (UNI) The Kashmir valley is facing acute shortage of essential commodities due to indefinite curfew for the past three days.

People from different areas complained about the shortage of essentials, particularly milk for kids.

They said due to curfew they could not move out of their houses to bring milk for their children.

''We could not store milk, bread, vegetables and other essentials due to sudden imposition of curfew,'' morning the people said.

However, some said they had to drink ''kahwa'' instead of other tea due to lack of milk. There was no bread as the bakers were not allowed by the security forces to prepare bread, people from most areas in the civil line, uptown and Shar-e-Khas told UNI over phone.

They said they had no ''atta'' to prepare bread at home as they could not purchase it from the market or depots of Consumers Affair and Public Distribution (CA&PD) stores which were without stock even during three normal days from Tuesday to Thursday last week.

Ration depots were without ration despite government claim that hundreds of trucks carrying essential commodities were arriving here daily from Jammu, people said.

Residents of Batmaloo, Dalgate, Sonawar, Rainawari and Nowgam alleged that the CAPD depots in their areas were empty for the past two weeks.

People complained that security forces were not allowing even milkmen, coming from outskirts for distributing of milk in the city.

However, residents living near different district and sub district hospitals were arranging food for patients.

A number of mohalla committee were also arranging food, tea, medicines and other essentials for the patients and their attendants in the SMHS hospital.

We are supplying medicine free of cost to patients, injured in police action, a member of the committee told UNI over phone from the hospital. However, for arranging all this, people from all parts of the valley are contributing while those from rural areas have donated vegetable, rice, milk, oil and other things.

UNI BAS ARB DS1220