MUZAFFARABAD: The Food Department of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has accelerated efforts to replenish wheat flour stocks in vulnerable areas along the Line of Control (LoC), amid heightened tensions with India and fears of possible incursion from across the divide.

In snowbound and remote areas of AJK many of which lie adjacent to the LoC theFood Department traditionally stocks specially treated wheat flour with an extended shelf life to sustain local populations from December through May. In comparatively safer areas, routine storage is limited to a 15-day supply due to easier accessibility.

However, in response to fresh directives from AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, the department has begun increasing reserves in forward locations to meet the needs of residents for atleast two months.

`In accordance with the prime minister`s instructions, we have launched an intensive operation to ensure wheat flour stocks are available for a full two months in the entire LoC belt,` AJK`s Minister for Food Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim told Dawn.

He said the government was simultaneously working on relocating food depots from areas exposed to potential shelling or military activity to relatively safer zones withoutdisrupting access for residents.

The minister added that he had also instructed officials to prepare contingency plans to maintain uninterrupted food supply chains to vulnerable settlements, especially those that were frequently cut off during winter or during episodes of Indian shelling.

On Thursday, the AJK premier had informed the Legislative Assembly that he had constituted a special `Emergency Response Fund` with an initial allocation ofRs1 billion.

The fund would cater to urgent needs such as replenishment of wheat flour, procurement of lifesaving medicines, and provision of other essential services in the 13 constituencies situated along the volatile LoC, spanning six districts Neelum, Jhelum Valley, Haveli, Poonch, Kotli and Bhimber.

When contacted, AJK Food Department Director Abdul Hameed Kiani said sufficient wheat flour stocks had already been secured in all depots along the LoC.

`However, in light of the prime minister`s instructions and the uncertain situation, we are now increasing our storage capacity to meet a two-month demand, he said.

`All contractors engaged by the department have been mobilised to use the maximum number of vehicles to deliver wheat flour in the shortest possible time, he said, adding that department officials were supervising dispatches directly both at the flour millsand in the delivery zones.

According to Mr Kiani, nearly 70 per cent of the target had so far been achieved.

On Saturday, around 250 tonnes of flour were dispatched from a single mill on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad.

Food Inspector Syed Zawar Haider, who was overseeing operations at the mill, said the consignments were being sent to various parts of Neelum Valley and forward areas of Jhelum Valley district.

`We are executing the task without interruption and expect to complete the operation within the next two days,` he said.