Resumption of NATCO service to Mastuj demanded
CHITRAL: The NATCO bus service between Gilgit and Mastuj still remains closed creating lots of problems for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral.
A large number of people belonging to various parts of Upper Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan such as Mastuj, Laspur, Gilgit, Gahkuch and Phandar frequently used the transport service.
The NATCO bus service from Gilgit to Mastuj has been one of the most successful routes of the public sector transport company.
The service is closed in the winter due to heavy snow on the Shandur Pass. But the pass reopens in April or May. This year, the snow on the pass melted in May and the road was reopened but so far the bus service has not been restored even after the end of the coronavirus lockdown during which public transport services were closed across the country.
Meanwhile, Shandur Area Conservation and Welfare Organization has called upon the caretaker chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan Mir Afzal Khan to order the immediate resumption of the bus service from Gilgit to Mastuj in order to facilitate hundreds of passengers who daily used it.
It my be mentioned that hundreds of people from Upper Chitral’s Laspur and Mastuj areas cross over to GB side in search of work even in the winter. Moreover, traders also bring goods, especially Chinese, from the Gilgit city.–Bashir Hussain Azad