Bridge demanded for Upper Chitral stream

CHITRAL: The office-bearers of Chitral Development Movement (CDM) on Monday asked the government to establish a temporary bridge on the stream at Astaro point in Torkho in Upper Chitral district before the advent of the winter season and the subsequent snowfall to facilitate the local residents.

Speaking at a press conference here, CDM chairman Waqas Ahmad advocate, Maulana Israruddin, Shabir Ahmad Khan, Sheikh Salahuddin and others said that over 65,000 residents of Torkho and Tirich in Upper Chitral would remain cut off from rest of the country in case of snowfall in winter season. The office-bearers said that the bridge at Astaro point on the stream in Torkho was washed away by the recent flashfloods but no one bothered to reconstruct it to facilitate the local residents.

They said the traffic was diverted to a dangerous and difficult route but it would also get blocked after the possible first snowfall in the area. The local residents, the CDM office-bearers, said would face great hardships, including the shortage of edibles and medicines, after being cut off from the rest of the country. They also appealed to Chitral Scouts commandant, corps commander Peshawar and army chief to take steps for erecting a steel bridge at Astaro point in Torkho in Upper Chitral so the local residents could be facilitated during the upcoming winter season and snowfall.