Life miserable in Chitral due to continue bad weather and blocking of land routes.
CHITRAL: Lives of people of Chitral are in great trouble these days due to continue rain, snowfall at peaks of mountains and blockage of all land routes connecting Chitral to other sorts of the country. Main road between Chitral Peshawar have blocked at Lawari top due to heavy snowfall and the alternate road between Chitral Gilgit and Northern Areas also have blocked at Shundoor pass after snowfall. Besides it PIA schedules flights also suspended since Tuesday while permission from Afghan government is still awaited to use Afghanistan territory by Chitral people to travel from Chitral to Peshawar via Kunar. Hence the situation in Muhamand and Bajawar agency also of tense but travel via Jalalabad is safe than travel in these two tribal agencies of Pakistan. Longest and unscheduled load shedding is an other problem of Chitral people and one generator is faulty for the last two months in the local hydro power station of 1 Megawatt. The Wapda (Pesco) operational staff remove links of transformer to disconnect power supply and joint it after 12 hours while the local consumer demanding for re-scheduling this longest breakdown to minimize it to 5 or 4 hours only instead of 12 hours continue. After continue rain and snowfall over the peaks of hills Chitral is once again in grip of sever cold weather and the people have been besieged within their houses. Non-availability of firewood and essential edible things like fresh vegetable in local market and sky touching prices of pulses and other dry grain has deteriorated their lives. Roads linking to Terich and other valley also blocked due to land sliding and rolling stones.
Annual festival of Kalash community “ Chatarmast” is also continue which will be ended on 22nd of this month but continue rain and snowfall at Kalash valleys has increased problems for Kalash people. As they can not moving easily from one village to other and between the valleys. Road of Madaglasht and Sheshi valley also have erosion and blocked at so many places due to land sliding. While at upper Chitral there is acute shortage of firewood where temperature is below of freezing point. Expectations of gas pipeline from Tajikistan to Pakistan via Chitral also now not seem feasible and the people of the area frustrated from this project. As there is plentiful water resources having potential of 30000 megawatt of power generating but no feasibility report have been prepared for hydropower house except Golain goal, which is under process. Inhabitants of Chitral have appeal federal and provincial government for utilizing of their water resources for generating electricity to minimize their problems. Otherwise forest is badly affecting by illegal cutting might be affect environment of this beautiful area. They also have appeal for early construction of Lawari rail Tunnel and permission for using this tunnel for travel between Chitral and Peshawar.
G.H. Farooqi PO Box No. 50 GPO Chitral Pakistan phone No. 0943 302295, 414418, 03025989602
Website: www.dailychitral.com
Email: gulhamad@gmail.com, gulhamad786@hotmail.com,gulhamaad@yahoo.co.uk