River erosion in Upper Chitral: Leaders decry govt’s apathy as more houses devoured

CHITRAL: As the river devoured six more houses, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leaders on Wednesday criticised the provincial government for its apathy over the river erosion in Reshun village in Upper Chitral and called for quick action to address the issue.

Speaking at a press conference at Chitral Press Club, Abdul Wali Khan, Abid Advocate, Muhammad Azam Khan, Muhammad Kausar Advocate, Muhammad Wazir Khan, Sajidullah Advocate, Niaz A Niazi Advocate and others, said that Reshun village was about to being wiped out due to the incompetence of the incompetent rulers. They added that the erosion of the river near Reshun village had been continuing for the last five years but the government was least bothered to take corrective steps. They demanded action against the officials of the Irrigation Department as Rs60 million was embezzled in the construction of the embankment near the river. The PMLN leaders urged the National Highways Authority authorities to take steps on an emergency basis to divert the river from the village.

They also criticized the provincial government over the reports about closure of University of Chitral and said that Chitral was one-fifth of the entire province in terms of area, where the biggest source of employment was linked with higher education and there was a need for a separate university for Upper Chitral, but efforts were underway to abolish the existing university, which the people of Chitral will never accept.

The PMLN leaders said more universities should have been built in Chitral.They also criticized Abdul Latif, a member of the National Assembly from Chitral, for ridiculing the prime minister on the floor of the National Assembly, saying that Chitral has suffered due to his non-serious attitude. They said that the MNA belonging to the PTI should speak on the floor of the National Assembly to highlight the problems of Chitral instead of indulging in non-serious acts for which the people of Chitral will not forgive him.

They demanded that Chitral should be reconnected with the national grid by re-installing the poles at Lowari Top and feared that Chitral would plunge into darkness if the floods hit Golen Gol and the power plant closed down.