CHITRAL: The elders of Juti Lasht in Lower Chitral and Khuzh village in Mastuj have asked the prime minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to order the relevant authorities to construct protection walls along the Chitral River to protect their villages from drowning and agriculture lands from erosion.
Speaking at a press conference, the elders, including Samiullah Khan, Sikandar Hayat Lal, Sher Babu Khan and Iqraruddin from Jutilasht said that a gridstation of electricity of Wapda was also here in the village but neither the power producing authority nor other relevant department of the government bothered to protect the gridstation and the village from the drowning in the river.
The road constructed by the National Highway Authority was just 15 feet away from the gushing water of Chitral River, which had already eroded a vast piece of land over the years.
The elders said that if the Chitral-Peshawar road eroded then the link of the district would be disconnected with the rest of the country.
They said that there was a disappointment among the people of Juti Lasht due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned as they thought that their village would also be wiped out like Rishun by the floodwater of Chitral River.
The elders also appealed to the chief Justice of Pakistan to take sue moto notice of the issue and order the relevant department to construct a protection wall along the Chitral River before commencing summer and monsoon.
Meanwhile, the elders from Khuzh village including Jehangir and Illahi Bakhsh urged the provincial government to release the approved fund for the protection wall along the river Yarkhun as the village was at the verge of being washed away.
They also demanded that a jeepable bridge should be constructed over the river to link Khuz and other villages with the main Yarkhun-Chitral road.
The News