GARAM CHASHMA: A large number of local elders and youth held a protest meeting in Garam Chashma to demand the inclusion of Garam Chashma Road in the current year’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The speakers at the gathering organized by Tehreek-e-Lotkoh warned that if the road was once again excluded, they will boycott all future electoral processes.
Tehreek chairman Nawab Khan, said, “Our movement is not for the repair of Garam Chashma Road, it is for its complete reconstruction. The road has ceased to exist in any functional form. We will not accept any compromise short of full-scale reconstruction.”
President of the movement, Nusrat Elahi, expressed strong resentment over what he termed a continued neglect of the valley by the state.
“We are citizens of this country and are demanding our basic rights. It seems the 70,000 residents of Lotkoh Valley are invisible when it comes to state funding. Every time the government needs to cut something from the PSDP, Garam Chashma Road is always the first target. This discriminatory behavior has exhausted our patience.”
He warned that before any major crisis erupts, the government must act. “The people of Lotkoh are citizens of the same state that you rule. Don’t deprive us of our rightful share.”
Other speakers included Tehreek\’s General Secretary Allauddin Haidari, former Nazim Nazar Shah, Sher Azam and local youth leaders. They criticized elected representatives for only remembering the area during election campaigns.
“Outside of election season, they either remain silent or use private meetings as publicity stunts on social media,” said one of the speakers.
The participants unanimously declared that all political representatives must either join Tehreek-e-Lotkoh and support the cause or stay away from Lotkoh during future elections. “We will not vote unless the Garam Chashma Road is included in the PSDP this year,” they concluded.