Gul Hamad Farooqi
CHITRAL: Due to continue torrential rains from Friday, while snowfall on the peaks of mountain, upper areas and Kalash Krakar village badly affected communication system in the entire valley. Due to the heavy rain and continuous downpouring , flood hit in different streams and the routes of several valleys were closed due to land sliding and falling heavy boulders from mountains. The only land route connecting Chitral to other parts of the country is also closed for all kinds of traffic at Lawari tunnel, while Upper Chitral, Lutkoh and Kalash Valley,s road are also closed. Hide and seek of Electricity also continue for the last 3 days and PTCL, Internet service (Brand Band, DSL) are also suspended due to cutting of optical fibber for the last two days, causing people to face severe problems. Floods devastated different areas in upper and lower Chitral districts. Chmarkun kuf village badly affected by chocho goal nullah as a link road, pedestrian bridge, irrigation stream and water supply pipelines were also destroyed due to erosion and floods. On this bridge, hundreds of school going children, both boys and girls, and people were going to the Mosque and their homes, while the irrigation stream used to supply water to hundreds of houses and thousands acres of land from the Jughor goal. If irrigation water not restored immediately it is feared that the cultivable land would be converted in barren one.
Mehrab Wali, Mohammed Shafiq, Sher Ali, Intikhab Ahmad, Shamsur Rehman and a local engineer from Chamkun Kuf village said that the road leading to Kuf village was being destroyed again and again due to frequent floods. Two years ago, when the road fell due to floods, the people of the area had temporarily passed the road in an agriculture land on self help basis, but unfortunately now it also fell and they have no option to reach their houses or carry edible things in vehicles. They said that the road is repeatedly damaged and huge amount were spent from the public treasury on its maintenance but due to poor planning, the work is substandard quality and it is repeatedly damaging so it should to used pillars and proper foundation for RCC concrete in its protection walls. So as that the road will be permanently safe. Due to this road’s collapse a large number of vehicles and motorcycles have been strained across the road damaged portion , which is no longer has a way to carry them out unless the road is rebuilt. –
Sher Ali says he had made this house after great hardships and working as a labor for 16 years in Saudi Arabia with a hard labor, due to situated on the river bank my house repeatedly come under flood and a portion of my house has been destroyed and now my old mother, young children, wife are very much worry. The flood flowing beneath of its boundry wall and it can damage my house any time.
In the same village, the house of Fida Muhammad was also partially damaged and fruit trees were also falling in his house.
Chairman of Village Council Chamarkun Abdul Haq says that due to the recent rains and floods, the pedestrian bridge and the water stream have been greatly damaged for the people of the area. As this village is Famous for the sweet and delicious pomegranates if the irrigation canal and the water supply scheme were not restored immediately it is feared that these pomegranate gardens will also be dried up and will damaged due to no water, which is the only source of income for the people here. The affected people have appeal to the high ups of NDMA, PDMA, provincial Chief minister and the authorities to restore pedestrian bridge, irrigation stream, link road, and water supply pipeline immediately so that People should not face more difficulties water supply has been suspended to their houses and fields due to flash flood. They have also demanded that the people whose homes have been damaged should also be compensated so that they can quickly repair their houses.
