SHANGLA: Residents here have demanded of the authorities concerned to clear Karora-Chakesar, Butyal-Khtaksar, Perkhana-Ajmeer and other link roads which have been blocked for the last eight days due to landslides following heavy snowfall.

They said that they were even unable to shift their patients to hospitals after start of the recent spell of snowfall.

Wajid Ali, a resident of Chakesar, told this correspondent that he was an employee at the district headquarters, Alpuri, and regularly travelled on Karora-Chakesar road, but his vehicle was stuck at Kandaw where three feet of snow had fallen so far.

Several areas without electricity for eight days due to snowfall

He said that women, children, elderly and patients were also seen at Kandaw, waiting for reopening of the road because several vehicles were stuck in the snow.

“I got stuck in the snow along with family and faced severe hardships waiting for hours in the night, as driving down the snowy road was dangerous,” said, Kashif, another resident of Chakesar tehsil. He said that the district and local administrations had just focused on Shangla top whereas the residents of Chakesar remained in trouble.

Gul Zamin, a resident of Khataksar, said that the road connecting Khataksar with Butyal, Bisham, was already covered with rubble brought by rainwater in summer season, but now the landslides had worsened the situation and blocked it completely. He said that they had no option except to shift their patients in cots to hospitals.

The local people said that they had informed the district and Bisham tehsil administration about the blocked roads, but in vain. They warned the administration that if the roads were not cleared of snow and landslides they would come onto the streets for agitation.

This correspondent tried to get the version of administration officials, but calls went unattended.

Meanwhile, power supply and internet services remained suspended for the eighth day in Bisham city, Puran, Martung and other parts of Shangla, causing problems for the residents.

The power supply and internet services were suspended after upper parts of the district received heavy snowfall due to which the electricity poles collapsed and internet cables were damaged. However, officials claimed that restoration work was underway and the power supply had been restored in some areas.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2019