Hundreds of people are effectively stranded in Chitral's Golain valley Naya Daur-The Friday Times has learnt.
Unrelenting rain and subsequent flooding has left the only road link to the valley snapped since one week. Three bridges in the area have collapsed. Over a dozen houses have been completely destroyed. Another 40 have been partially damaged.
Two mosques have been ravaged by the floods. A prayer leader said there was no place left for worshippers to congregate.
Contact is yet to be established with a 100 Gujjar families dwelling in pastures beyond the forest. Locals have tried to make do with a makeshift bridge of wooden planks and ropes. The rudimentary structure is perilous to traverse.
The stranded have no option but to camp under the open sky. They say they have no option but to flee.
The aged among them said the area had been inundated earlier in 1930, 1946 and 1977. Locals alleged the construction of the 107-megawatt Golain Hydroelectric powerplant had caused the area to flood. They said the construction of the structure had disturbed the region's topography.
A shortage of eatables looms. Locals have to secure foodstuffs and potable water kilometres away. They then carry it back.
Golain was also hit by a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood earlier in 2019. The event had left infrastructure across the region damaged.