Damaged road left unrepaired as funds misused

ZAIT (Upper Chitral), March 26: The road leading to the Reshun powerhouse in Reshun Gol from Ramdas Chowk in the main village has become dilapidated, endangering the lives of the travelers in this rugged mountainous area. Local residents while talking to chitraltoday.net here complained that for the last many years the road had not been repaired. Ali Sher Khan, of the village, told chitraltoday.net the devastating 2010 flooding in the nearby nullah destroyed many roads which were reconstructed by the people of the village on their own. Thereafter, some of the contractors started work on the main road to the powerhouse but disappeared after a few days. They never come back, he added. Showkat Ali said it had also become difficult for the workers at the powerhouse to carry heavy machinery up and down. And when someone falls sick, people face great trouble in shifting their patients to the Aga Khan Diagnostic Centre which is located inside Reshun Gol. According to the residents, the government had released Rs1,800,000 (1.8 million) for the reconstruction of the road but nobody knows where the amount was spent. Another resident, retired Subedar Khair Baig said the broken and bumpy road had not been repaired for many years and as a result potholes on the road had become a constant hazard. At some places, open manholes in the middle of the road have led to a number of accidents. He also said his own son was the victim of it last year when he fell into a ditch near the third bridge inside Reshun Gol. He further said that about 20 houses still were deprived of water and using temporary pipelines as they were swept away in the floods and never repaired. Another resident, Ali Sher said local tourists coming here frequently to visit the powerhouse were also facing hurdles while traveling to the area. The residents criticized the authorities concerned for their negligence in repairing the road. They had appealed to anti-corruption department of Chitral to take action against those who misused the funds released for the reconstruction of the road.  ]]>