Hundreds of people of Brep valley, Upper Chitral held a protest for the second time in a week to push the authorities to restore the flood-stricken area.
The public meeting was presided over by former councilor Shelly Sultan, while Nazim Ahmed Khan of Village Council, Kozh was the guest of honour on the occasion.
During the protest, there was a complete shutter-down strike in Brep bazaar, while the main road of Yarkhun Valley and Brughal was also blocked for several hours.
Addressing the meeting, the speakers said that on August 19, 2022, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) event occurred in the hill above the valley, causing a disastrous flood started.
Some 60 houses were completely damaged while hundreds of acres of apple and other fruit orchards, standing crops, cultivated land were destroyed and many people were rendered homeless.
Moreover, the only utility store, a mosque and three congregation halls (Jamat Khana) were also washed away, and a girls' high school, government and non-government buildings, shops, and a shopping mall were damaged.
The perturbed speakers said that after the floods, former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan visited the area and announced to provide Rs500 Million for the affected areas.They said that they kept waiting for the announcement to materialise, but it didn't.
The participants added that the Regional Programme Manager of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) Ameer Muhammad and his team also visited the area.
Ameer said that these icebergs, i.e. glaciers, have a special type of fruiting plant that prevents the glacier from melting, and that the goats eat the same specie of plant, causing the glaciers to melt.
He assured people that if they sell their goats and other livestock, the AKAH will build a protective wall for them in Chikan Gol Nala, which will keep the area safe.
The locals maintained that they sold their goats and other animals on half the price, thus facing a huge loss.
Read this too: Managing Floods By Going With The Flow in Pakistan
That, too wasn't of use because after a passage of nine months, the project couldn't be included in the current year's development scheme.
They then said that the AKAH official visited the flooded area with the Canadian embassy delegates and officials. On the occasion, the Canadian diplomat announced Rs250 million for the flood affectees.
But when the money wasn't received in a long time, the locals contacted Ameer, who said that the amount was meant for the whole of Chitral, not just the Brep valley.
The speakers added that despite their representative's constant efforts to contact AKAH official over the delay in the fund's release, they haven't received a response yet.
A resolution was also passed on the occasion, demanding immediate restoration of utility store, supply of wheat in the grain godown, maintenance of irrigation canals, and addressing the lack of staff in the Government Girls High School and shortage of medicines in the primary health centre.
They said that there are 500 households adjacent to the Chikan Gol Nala. In case of floods, water enters the houses in the area. According to them, they are in efforts to reach out to government institutions as well as the AKAH since 2017.
Farman Nazaar, former postmaster, Dr Muhammad Hazar Khan, Qawat Ali Khan, former president of the local council, Mir Rahim, President of Brep Cluster, Allah Dad Khan, Ameer Haji, Mrs. Siraj Nisa, and Anbreen Bibi addressed the participants.
Since 2005, there has been continuous flooding due to the melting of hundreds of years' old avalanches on the mountains. But surprisingly, this affected area is not included in GLOF Project.
Following the protest, Additional Assistant Commissioner Mastuj came and assured the locals of resolving some of their issues 'within three days'.
On his assurance, the protestors postponed the strike for three days and dispersed peacefully. A large number of men, women, children and the elderly belonging to 10 villages participated in the protest.
The locals took this correspondent to one of the flood-affected areas where people are forced to drink contaminated water due to damage to the public health engineering water tank. They said that no engineer or officer of the department has visited the site so far.
When contacted, Executive Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department, Arshad Iqbal told The Friday Times that the PC 1 for the project has been approved and funds are awaited.
Brep's apples are quite famous. General Zia-ul-Haq would send helicopters from GHQ specifically to pick these apples, and send them as a gift to his domestic and foreign friends and to Lady Diana.
The public meeting was presided over by former councilor Shelly Sultan, while Nazim Ahmed Khan of Village Council, Kozh was the guest of honour on the occasion.
During the protest, there was a complete shutter-down strike in Brep bazaar, while the main road of Yarkhun Valley and Brughal was also blocked for several hours.
Addressing the meeting, the speakers said that on August 19, 2022, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) event occurred in the hill above the valley, causing a disastrous flood started.
Some 60 houses were completely damaged while hundreds of acres of apple and other fruit orchards, standing crops, cultivated land were destroyed and many people were rendered homeless.
Moreover, the only utility store, a mosque and three congregation halls (Jamat Khana) were also washed away, and a girls' high school, government and non-government buildings, shops, and a shopping mall were damaged.
The perturbed speakers said that after the floods, former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan visited the area and announced to provide Rs500 Million for the affected areas.They said that they kept waiting for the announcement to materialise, but it didn't.
The participants added that the Regional Programme Manager of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) Ameer Muhammad and his team also visited the area.
Ameer said that these icebergs, i.e. glaciers, have a special type of fruiting plant that prevents the glacier from melting, and that the goats eat the same specie of plant, causing the glaciers to melt.
He assured people that if they sell their goats and other livestock, the AKAH will build a protective wall for them in Chikan Gol Nala, which will keep the area safe.
The locals maintained that they sold their goats and other animals on half the price, thus facing a huge loss.
Read this too: Managing Floods By Going With The Flow in Pakistan
That, too wasn't of use because after a passage of nine months, the project couldn't be included in the current year's development scheme.
They then said that the AKAH official visited the flooded area with the Canadian embassy delegates and officials. On the occasion, the Canadian diplomat announced Rs250 million for the flood affectees.
But when the money wasn't received in a long time, the locals contacted Ameer, who said that the amount was meant for the whole of Chitral, not just the Brep valley.
The speakers added that despite their representative's constant efforts to contact AKAH official over the delay in the fund's release, they haven't received a response yet.
A resolution was also passed on the occasion, demanding immediate restoration of utility store, supply of wheat in the grain godown, maintenance of irrigation canals, and addressing the lack of staff in the Government Girls High School and shortage of medicines in the primary health centre.
They said that there are 500 households adjacent to the Chikan Gol Nala. In case of floods, water enters the houses in the area. According to them, they are in efforts to reach out to government institutions as well as the AKAH since 2017.
Farman Nazaar, former postmaster, Dr Muhammad Hazar Khan, Qawat Ali Khan, former president of the local council, Mir Rahim, President of Brep Cluster, Allah Dad Khan, Ameer Haji, Mrs. Siraj Nisa, and Anbreen Bibi addressed the participants.
Since 2005, there has been continuous flooding due to the melting of hundreds of years' old avalanches on the mountains. But surprisingly, this affected area is not included in GLOF Project.
Following the protest, Additional Assistant Commissioner Mastuj came and assured the locals of resolving some of their issues 'within three days'.
On his assurance, the protestors postponed the strike for three days and dispersed peacefully. A large number of men, women, children and the elderly belonging to 10 villages participated in the protest.
The locals took this correspondent to one of the flood-affected areas where people are forced to drink contaminated water due to damage to the public health engineering water tank. They said that no engineer or officer of the department has visited the site so far.
When contacted, Executive Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department, Arshad Iqbal told The Friday Times that the PC 1 for the project has been approved and funds are awaited.
Brep's apples are quite famous. General Zia-ul-Haq would send helicopters from GHQ specifically to pick these apples, and send them as a gift to his domestic and foreign friends and to Lady Diana.