March 8, 2006	Wednesday	Safar 7, 1427

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GILGIT, March 7: Although the Karakoram Highway has been partially opened to traffic, portions of the road are littered with boulders and mud. A portion of the road between Raikot (Chilas) and Basham (NWFP) is partially hazardous with boulders and debris blocking it after almost every kilometre and it is hit by new landslides almost everyday.

Continuous rain and avalanches causing massive landslides between Pattan and Basham make the road too narrow for two vehicles to pass through at a time.

“The condition deteriorated after the Oct 8 earthquake followed by aftershocks in parts of the NWFP which shook the already unstable rocks and boulders protruding over the KKH between Basham and Gilgit. Now even light rain and mild jolts trigger landslides,” local resident Zaidullah said.

He said the KKH which was the only land route between the Northern Areas and the rest of the country, remained blocked for several days every month.

He said: “During blockades, passengers and trade convoys remained stranded in a helpless situation as the road passes through mountains and uninhabited areas where it is hard to find food and shelter.”

He said that the small number of hotels and restaurants along the KKH were unable to meet the needs of stranded passengers whose number swells to thousands during road blockades and these soon run out of supplies.