CHITRAL NEWS                                                                                                                                              Home page

'Aakhri zamana aagaya' aka 'globalisation'

Indian eggs in Chitral

CHITRAL, 29, January 09: After a shortage of eggs in the local market for about two weeks due to the closure of Lowari Top, the commodity of Indian origin is being smuggled from Afghanistan into the local market making up it's short supply, residents said. They said that although a dozen eggs costs them about 100 rupees but its very availability is worthwhile.

Consumers said that the tomato available in the market is also Indian, which is smuggled here from Afghanistan via Arandu border. They said that in the past years, the district government used to issue permits to the local traders endorsed by the home secretary in Peshawar and the commodities were transported here from Peshawar.

This year no such arrangement has been made and the local traders smuggle them from the Afghan markets. However, they said that the prices of the fruits and vegetables and other items are many times higher than that in Peshawar. Giving example, they said that a kg of tomato is sold here at 55 rupees while it is available in Peshawar at 15 rupees. --(Zahiruddin)