People of Chitral are fortunate to have been blessed with
heavy snow fall received with new year 2010 and at this time
whole Yarkhun, Laspur and Mastuj valleys are covered with
14” to 28” snow and the people are stranded and unable to
walk and travel to other villages. Livestock is confined to
their sheds going to river for drinking water after removing
snow. This year snowfall is said to be more what it was last
year and farmers are happy to be able to get sufficient
irrigation water this year as well.
56000 people of Yarkhun, Laspur and Mastuj are happy
receiving the snow fall but at the same time are stranded to
their houses and villages because of heavy snow fall and
glaciers fallen on the roads. First time snow fall was
removed by Village Organizations making road linkages
possible with each other and rest part of the district, but
continued snow fall made it difficult for the community to
remove it by themselves. Whole Yarkhun, Laspur and Mastuj
valley, about 150 km is now blocked for traffic. VOs of
Brep, Khuzh, Kargin, Chapari and Chuinj removed snow and
glacier from the road (30 km) and connected 8 villages to
Mastuj and onward to Booni and Chitral. Jeep road Laspur and
from Brep to Yarkhunlasht is closed waiting for removal of
glacier that has stopped traffic and removing is possible by
bulldozer.
Whole Mastuj, Yarkhun and Laspur people would have been
blocked and disconnected from Booni and Chitral if QASADO
not constructed Kruideri link road and jeep able bridge on
river Yarkhun in 2005-6. This road from Mastuj to Parwak is
now called Ithehad road and bridge named QASADO bridge.
QASADO maintained this link road and bridge till 2008-9. C/W
provided fund and constructed QASADO bridge in 2009 by its
contractor but using QASADO materials.
QASADO, an umbrella organization of 56000 people of Yarkhun,
Mastuj and Laspur requests District Coordinating Officer
(DCO) and Executive Engineer C/W division Chitral to depute
bulldozer for removing glaciers and connect valleys to
Chitral.
Liaquat Khan
QASADO Mastuj, Chitral.
19 Feb 2010
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