Flood, quake-hit people of Kosht block Chitral-Mastuj road
By: Gul Hamaad Farooqi
CHARUN: Anger protesters blocked road for 12 hours, Hundreds of flood, quake-hit people from Kosht, Charun, Kuragh, Booni and Reshun etc blocked Chitral- BooniMastuj road at the lower bridge in Charun village.
The anger protesters gathered at Charoon bridge and blocked the road saying they would continue the protest till there three demands are met..
Addressing to the protest sit in they said they had three main and genuine demands and wanted the government to fulfill them without any further delay and making hollow promises.
The first demand is the reconstruction of the Bumbagh water channel from the Mastuj river which was washed away during the July-August 2015 floods and has not been repaired. They said fruit trees and agricultural crops in the Bumbagh village were at the verge of destruction without water.
The second demand was the reconstruction of the only bridge of Kosht in front of Charun that was also washed away in the flood. A temporary bridge arranged by the army would be washed away when the water level in the river increases in a few weeks, disconnecting the whole area. The government has so far done nothing to reconstruct the only bridge, he added.
The third demand, he added, was the payment of compensation to the owners of houses damaged in the October 26, 2016, earthquake. They said the local administration has carried out more than one verification of the damages but the affected people were yet to be paid the compensation announced by the federal government. They said this was the issue being faced by the people of whole subdivision Mastuj.
They also alleged that Benazir Income Support Program fund also giving to influential persons and most of poor and deserving widows and oppressed people were deprived from this financial support.
Later, addressing the protesters, Sardar Hussain Shah of Green Lasht said Rs50 million donation given by PPP central leader Syed Khursheed Shah for the earthquake-hit people of Chitral were distributed by MPAs Sardar Hussain and Salim Khan among their own cronies.
Rahmat Salam Lal, Parvez Lal, A/C retired Sardar Muhammad, some female students of the area also spoke on the occasion. They blocked the Booni Chitral road from morning to Evening and no vehicle were allowed to cross the road. At evening Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Ghafar, Tahesil Nazim M. Yousuf and Naib Nazim Fakhruddin visited the protest camp and motivate them for dialogue with deputy commissioner who ended their protest amicably.