Two die as monsoon rains cause damage in Mohmand

GHALLANAI/JUDBAH: Heavy monsoon rains on Monday claimed two lives and caused heavy damage in several villages of the Mohmand tribal district.

In Khwaizai tehsil, an eight-year-old child, Sajjad, drowned in floodwater. A 20-year-old youth Qadeem drowned in the Kasuri area of the Pindiali tehsil.The floods resulting from the heavy rains damaged connecting roads in several villages, including Atokhel, Haiderkor, Chamarkand, and Aqrab Dag, making transportation difficult.

Many areas experienced substantial financial losses as floodwaters washed away cultivated lands and submerged standing crops.The primary crops affected included maize and various vegetables such as coriander, bitter gourd, spinach, tomatoes, and green chilies.

Reports indicated that the rains caused damage to houses in some areas. However, due to the lack of compensation from previous floods, many people are now reluctant to report their losses to the relevant authorities, as their expectations for support have diminished.

Meanwhile, the residents of Torghar demanded the district administration to reopen the Judbah-Darband road to traffic.“This artery which links Torghar with neighbouring Mansehra district was blocked to all sorts of traffic some six days ago following landslides. It could not be cleared for traffic as yet,” Naseeb Roaz, a local told reporters in Judbah the district headquarters of Torghar.

Flanked by a group of locals he said the road was blocked at the Nomiakamar area in recent monsoon rains and people of both districts settled in Judbah and Darband were suffering the brunt of it.

Another local, Rubnawaz said that they had met the deputy commissioner seeking his intervention in reopening that artery but to no avail.“The government has changed the tribal status of Torghar to a settled district in 2011, but we are still going without basic amenities and services,” he said.