GILGIT: Stranded passengers staged a protest demonstration outside the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly building in Gilgit on Sunday against the authorities’ failure to clear the Jaglot-Skardu Road, which remains blocked for the fifth consecutive day after landslides triggered by an earthquake blocked it on Wednesday

The protesters threatened to stage a sit-in outside the chief secretary’s office if the road was not immediately cleared.

A large number of passengers from Baltistan division had got stranded on the Gilgit side after the blockade of the Jaglot-Skardu Road on Wednesday.

The protesters kept the Sharah-i-Quaid-i-Azam blocked for hours.

Civil society activists from Baltistan division also joined the protesters, who chanted slogans against the government for its apathy towards the misery caused to the passengers due to prolonged blockade of the road.

The protesters said hundreds of passengers, who were travelling to Baltistan from various part of the country, got stranded when landslides triggered by the earthquake blocked the Jaglot-Skardu Road.

The local administration had brought many Baltistan-bound passengers to the Gilgit city on Thursday, staying them in hotels.

The road is a lifeline for Baltistan residents as they depend on it to access other parts of the country.

The protesters said the government was not serious to clear the road.

Najaf Ali, a representative of the protesters, said the GB government had promised that the stranded passengers would be flown to Skardu through a C-130 aircraft, but to no avail.

He alleged that the district administration failed to provide proper accommodation to the stranded passengers in Gilgit city.

Sabir Hussain, a coordinator of GB chief minister, met with the protesters and assured them to resolve their problems.

Meanwhile, a large number of tourists from various part of the country have also been stranded in Skardu due to blockade of the road.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2022