Construction of bridge in Upper Chitral demanded

ISLAMABAD: The residents of Torkhow, Shotkhar, Boob, Istaro, Verkub, Terich, Rain, Khot, Shagram, Rach in Tehsil Mastuj, District Upper Chitral, have been demanding for the past nine months to construct Istaro Bridge, now have started a sit-in in the village of Shagram from Saturday till the issue would not be resolved. The protestors demanded to construct a bridge even if it would be a makeshift to restore routine life, saying not to end their sit-in, if the authorities would not approve the construction of a bridge immediately. They said in the freezing winter, the residents are wholly dependent for food supplies on the markets of Upper Dir and Peshawar. And due to road conditions, a 40-minute long journey from Booni to Shagram takes two to three hours. They added that the disconnection of the road has disrupted more than 80,000 lives in Torkhow and adjoining villages, as they did not have an alternate way to travel to the other parts of the tehsil, district and the province. Talking to “The News,” a local resident Shahabuddin, hailing from Boob now working in the federal metropolis, said the people of the area are angry with the MNA and MPA of Chitral, who did not do anything to improve roads and water pipelines in Boob, Shotkhar and Lamkusham. He said the residents had also been demanding a district headquarter hospital in Booni.