Flash flood damage: Govt asked to rebuild Reshun road in Chitral

CHITRAL: The Chitral Development Movement on Saturday asked the government to order the relevant officials to rebuild the damaged road in Reshun village in the upper parts of Chitral.

Speaking at a press conference here, the movement’s Chairman Waqas Ahmad Advocate criticized the National Highways Authority (NHA) and the provincial Irrigation Department for failing to take steps to reconstruct the road, which was swept away by flash floods.

Ameerullah Khan, Liaqat Ali, Maulana Israruddin, Shabbir Ahmad Khan, Burhanuddin Advocate, Akhlaq Ahmad, Shahzada Bahram and others were also present.

They said that Upper Chital had been cut off from the rest of the country after the road in Reshun village was devoured by the river. They added that the river had eaten up a major portion of the road in Reshun village over the last four years, but the authorities concerned were least bothered to take steps to stop the damage.

Waqas Ahmad recalled that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had directed the relevant officials three years back to construct the protective wall around the river, but to no avail.

He said that Upper Chitral had been cut off from the rest of the country and this had created a shortage of food items and fuel.

He said that every year the flash foods hit Reshun village in July, but the NHA and the Irrigation Department did not bother to take steps to stop the damage to the road and the land.

Waqas Ahmad said that the local people had given their lands to the government to reconstruct an alternate route, but they were yet to receive compensation for it.

The members of the Chitral Development Movement also criticized the Member National Assembly Maulana Abdul Akbar and Member Provincial Assembly Maulana Hidayatur Rahman for failing to highlight the issues being faced by the people of Chitral.

They came down hard on Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Minority Affairs Wazir Zada, saying he visited the affected area for a photo session, but said he was nowhere to be seen since then.