BREP (UPPER CHITRAL): Launch of work ordered on the channelization of a stream that has flooded and damaged public and private properties for many years in Brep village of Upper Chitral.
The channelization of Chikan Gol was a long-standing demand of the local people. Deputy Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Suriya Bibi (MPA Upper Chitral), took special interest in the matter and issued instructions to initiate the work, said a statement.
”Today, Engineer Faheem Ahmad (LG&RDD) and the Deputy Speaker’s PS Afghan Raza visited the project site. They were accompanied by the Brep village council chairman, cluster president and other political and social figures.
The local elders expressed their gratitude to the deputy speaker for the start of the work and expressed the hope that channelization of Chikan Gol would be completed on priority before the flooding season.
An eight-member committee has been formed to represent the community and oversee the project’s progress.
In 2022, floods in Chikan Gol and Daht Gol destroyed over 260 houses in Brep, ravaged 17 acres of apple orchards and 59 acres of cherry and potato fields along with roads, schools, mosques, dispensaries, shops, congregations, and water channels.
The local economy, heavily reliant on agriculture, has suffered immensely. Brep’s apples, once renowned and even sent as gifts to dignitaries like Lady Diana, have seen a decline due to the destruction of orchards .
Residents have been advocating for the cleaning and fortification of the stream banks for over two decades. The initiation of the channelization project is a significant step towards mitigating future flood risks and restoring the livelihoods of the affected communities.