MANSEHRA: The traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) was suspended again on Monday after flash floods that swept away the temporary ramp built at the Ichar Nullah in Upper Kohistan.
“This is the third time the flash floods swept away the ramp built at the Ichar Nullah suspending the traffic between KP and GB,” Mohammad Asif, the deputy commissioner of Upper Kohistan, told reporters.
The traffic on both sides of the temporary structure at the Karakoram Highway was halted after the flood swept away the ramp gradually.“There is no loss of life as the gushing water, which brought rocks, boulders and eroded soil, appeared flowing downstream,” the official said.
He said the district administration was working to conduct an environmental study to know how it was possible that only the Ichar Nullah gets flooded while other streams and nullahs having such high altitude mountainous catchments are without even water.
The deputy commissioner said Frontier Works Organisation also moved again to build the temporary ramp at the Ichar Nullah to restore the light traffic between both federating units.He said that traffic was diverted to Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road from Chelas and Mansehra after the ramp was washed away.
The concrete bridge at the Ichar Nullah, which links the KP with GB via the KKH, was swept away in flash floods on August 1. Meanwhile, heavy rain that lashed Haripur and upper Hazara early Monday, caused damage to roads and a school building, while landsliding at various points disrupted traffic flow, officials and local people said.
Officials said the two-room building of Government Primary School for Boys in Behki village was damaged after heavy rain. They said the building had been in poor condition for months and could not be repaired despite repeated complaints.
The rooms caved in and the courtyard developed several feet deep potholes as the rainwater accumulated there. The officials said the school reopened on Monday after the summer vacation, but the attendance of the students was very thin due to rain and the water accumulated there kept the students away and hence there was no casualty when the part of the structure collapsed.
Meanwhile, two remote union councils of Nara Amazai and Baitgali were affected due to landsliding at different points caused by rains. According to Qari Noor Hussain Tanoli, chairman Devi Village Council, the main artery connecting the population of the entire union council of Nara Amazai was closed for traffic after landsliding near Garhi Shah Muhammad.
Similarly, traffic was suspended in various village councils of Baitgali Union Council due to landsliding that restricted the mobility of villagers. Qari Noor said the link roads at Devi Gali, Kangroch, Kaneeri, Devi Bani, Tamgran, Puliyan and Namdara were a few to name where landsliding caused obstruction — the passages were yet to be cleared.The early morning heavy rain damaged crops in different villages.