Chitral landslide victims demand relocation

CHITRAL: The affecteesof the recent landslide on Tuesday urged the government to relocate the entire dwellers of the Shershal village as the area was prone to more such incidents and avalanche strikes.

Speaking at a press conference here, Taj Muhammad, Zafar Muhammad, Hussain Khan and others said that the recent landslide in the village had destroyed several houses, forcing score of families to spend nights under the open sky.

They said 50 percent houses in the village were either destroyed or damaged and were not fit for living. They said that the village was prone to more landslide incidents and was not safe for living.

"Half of properties are affected by the landslide while the rest is at risk of being hit by avalanche strikes," said Taj Muhammad. They said the road leading to the village was also considered among the most dangerous paths. "Using the road for going in or out of the village is like inviting trouble," he added.

He said the locals shifted two critically wounded persons of the landslide in stretchers after covering eight kilometer distance on foot to a road and then shifted them to the hospital in an ambulance.

They asked the government to arrange alternative shelter for those whose houses had been destroyed or damaged in the landslide and relocate all the 58 families living in the village.  Meanwhile, the army and Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) distributed relief items among the affectees of the landslide.