Disabled poet rescued from flood-hit Kohistan village

MANSEHRA: The district administration Lower Kohistan rescued a physically challenged poet of Kohistani language from upper Dubair valley and shifted him to a health facility on Tuesday.

“I received a message that the renowned Kohistani language poet has been stranded in upper Dubair since August 25 when the flash floods wreaked havoc in the valley,” Shakeel Ahmad, Deputy Commissioner Lower Kohistan, told reporters.

He said Mohammad Wali Sadiq was without healthcare since the flash floods hit the valley and destroyed roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

“I dispatched the Rescue 1122 team to relocate him to Pattan. The rescuers travelled for 12 hours on foot to reach his residence in Sanagai village and carried him on shoulders to the health facility,” Ahmad said.

Sajid Ali, the head of Rescue 1122 in Lower Kohistan, said that his team spent two-day to bring Sadiq to Pattan, the district headquarters.

“My team carried Sadiq, who is paralysed, on their shoulders through difficult mountainous terrain to Pattan from Sanagai,” he said.

Ali said the team carried him on their shoulders for eight hours.

Sadiq, whose poetry is famous, particularly among youngsters in three Kohistan districts- Lower, Upper and Kolai-Palas, thanked the district administration and Rescue 1122.

“My poetry is an inspiration for youngsters but I am short of words to narrate the hardships that our people went through,” he said.