MANSEHRA: The growers of Kaghan valley have demanded of the National Highway Authority to clear the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road of glaciers to facilitate cultivation of crops.

“We have to take seeds, fertilisers and other necessities to upper parts of Kaghan valley for cultivation but we can’t do that due to blockade of the main MNJ Road by glaciers for almost six months,” farmer Zeeshan Adil told reporters in Balakot area on Wednesday.

Accompanied by local growers, Mr Adil said the NHA usually cleared the MNJ Road in early May by removing glaciers and landslides up to Babusar Top but the artery hadn’t been opened to traffic even up to Battakundi area due to Covid-19 emergency.

“If this road isn’t opened within few days, thousands of families of farmers will suffer,” he said.

Mr Adil said the people of Kaghan valley settled in part of Hazara division returned to own villages at the end of the winter season and began collecting exotic species of mushrooms, herbs and shrubs and took them to Rawalpindi and Lahore for import but that hadn’t happened yet.

“The people can’t reach the high-altitude areas of the valley due to the blockade of the road,” he said.

SIT-IN: Hundreds of workers laid off by a company executing the Suki Kanari hydropower project resumed protest near Paras area after Eid holidays on Wednesday.

They warned that they would block project supplies through the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road on Thursday if the company didn’t restore them and pay their withheld salary.

“We [workers] have taken to the streets again over our employer’s failure to restore us and clear salary withheld for three months. If our demands of restoration and payments are not met by Thursday morning, we will suspend project supplies by force,” president of the labour union Tahir Hussain Shah told reporters.

He said the company had laid off over 1,600 workers at the start of the Covid-19 emergency.

“Our families are troubled by the sackings and nonpayment of salary, which also violate the government’s orders,” he said.

A committee formed by the assistant commissioner of Balakot failed to convince labourers to end protest.

The committee led by tehsil administration official Zulfiqar Khan approached protesters and requested them to put off the sit-in until June 2 saying the company has agreed to accept their demands.

However, the protesters refused to do so and announced that they would block the project supplies on Thursday morning.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2020