BOONI: While construction of Chitral-Shandur road is ongoing, commuters have to face blockades for hours during blasting on a mountain in front of Booni.
This inconvenience to the public could continue as long as work on the mega project is not complete, mainly because there is no alternative for such blockades anywhere in Chitral.
While in other parts along the road there is hardly any suitable route to be used as an alternative, uninterrupted access to and from other areas of Upper Chitral from Booni, the headquarters of the district of Upper Chitral, could be ensured by just repairing and expanding the old road via Awi-Dumadoomi and building a bridge near Dumadoomi.
For over 40 years when the main Chitral-Mastuj road was diverted towards the Parwak side, the people of Awi have been demanding construction of a bridge to link their village to the main road.
This road could also be used round the year by people of Upper Chitral commuting between their area and Booni and Chitral town, said PTI Upper Chitral Information Secretary Sher Afgan Raza while talking to ChitralToday.
He said that with the start of human settlements at Dumadoomi after the supply of water to the area through a siphon, the need of a bridge was felt more as people of Awi own agricultural land across the river.
They have to transport agricultural products and other goods from Dumadoomi to Awi via Booni by paying Rs5,000 fare which could be as low a Rs500 if a bridge is constructed over the river.
He said a bridge in front of Awi would also facilitate people of Mastuj, Laspur and Yarkhun in travelling to Booni. This would also help the NHA in continuing the construction work without interruption, he added.