CHITRAL: The 200-metre portion of Chitral-Booni road in front of the district jail building is being gradually eroded by the river and the pace of destruction will accelerate next month when the water level starts rising.

The process of erosion started two years ago when the river changed its course of flow towards the road in summer season after washing away a football ground situated on the river bank.

People residing in the vicinity of the affected place told Dawn that the width of the road had been reduced to a few feet only from the original 32 feet and the road could disappear anytime.

Qaumi Watan Party district president Abdul Wali Khan advocate, who is residing near the affected place, said that the communication and works department had so far not taken any step to save the road. He said that the construction of protection wall to salvage the road was possible during the four months of winter season, but the government had almost lost the season this time too despite repeated appeals.

He said that the river water would reach the building of district jail when the last remaining few feet road would also fell into the river.

People call for urgent steps to save route from being cut off

He warned that if this happened, the upper part of Chitral would be disconnected from rest of the district.

“This will lead to a horrible situation as the people of upper Chitral will face serious shortage of essential food commodities,” he said, adding that the river could also hit the warehouse of the district food department.

The QWP leader regretted that all his efforts to push the government for saving the road had failed.

Mohammad Buzurg, another resident of the area, said that last year the local people had shifted remains of their near and dear ones from the old graves to the graveyards at safer places.

He said that the residents of the area were worried at the situation as the summer season was drawing nearer during which half of the village was likely to be inundated by river water.

Published in Dawn February 18th , 2015

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