GILGIT: One person was killed in a landslide as flash floods triggered by monsoon rains damaged roads, bridges and submerged farmland in Diamer, Kharmung and Ghanche districts of Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday.

Police said various streams in Khinar, Gaspayeen, and Thore valleys of Diamer were in floods, damaging five bridges, three link roads, farmland and water channels. Police said they had vacated people living around the nallahs.

They said a 28-year-old man was killed due to landslide in Kamango valley of Kharmang, adding according to reports floods damaged roads and agricultural land in the area. They said landslides also affected 12 homes in Kharmung.

Similarly, floods in Thala, Tuso and Chando areas of Ghanche destroyed farmland, trees, bridges and cattle pens. Floodwater also entered several homes in the valley.

Sources said the local administration had not yet started rehabilitation work, adding majority of villages in the district were without electricity.

GB information minister Ibrahim Sanai, who also belongs to the district, said relief work had became difficult due to destroyed roads. He said homeless people had been shifted to mosques and charity homes.

Meanwhile, Naltar valley remained cut off from rest of the country for the last 12 days following damage to roads. The residents complained about shortage of medicines, wheat flour and other necessities of life.

A delegation of residents of Naltar valley told media persons in Gilgit on Monday that they had reached here on foot as the main road had been damaged by the floods.

NEW DISTRICTS: The Gilgit-Baltistan government on Monday appointed deputy commissioners of the three new districts of Shigar, Kharmung, and Nagar.

According to a notification issued by the GB services department, deputy director food Momin Jan had been appointed as deputy commissioner Kharmung, assistant commissioner Hunza Mohammad Musa had been given the charge of DC Shigar and assistant commissioner Tangir Mohammad Asif Raza was made DC Nagar. It said that deputy commissioner of the previously Hunza-Nagar district Imran Ali Hunza would continue as the DC of Hunza district. With the three new districts the number of administrative units in GB has reached to 10.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced carving out of three new districts in GB during his visit to the region on April 14 this year.

He had announced that Hunza-Nagar district will be bifurcated into two separate districts, Hunza and Nagar. Kharmang and Shigar are the other two districts.

While lauding the implementation of the prime minister’s announcement, Chief Minister Hafeezul Rahman said PML-N believed in practical work for welfare of people. He said regional government would take steps for launching development projects in all the districts of the region.

According to a press release issued by CM House on Monday, Mr Rahman said the regional government in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority was working to rehabilitate the flood affected people.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2015

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