SHANGLA: The dilapidated condition of the 35-kilometre Karora-Ajmeer Road in Kana tehsil is troubling motorists as it has not been rehabilitated since the August 2022 flash floods extensively damaged it at various places.

The road also leads to two main tourist destinations in Kana, which was recently declared as subdivision of Shangla by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Fateh Mohammad, who drives a mini jeep, said the road was built decades ago but now it was risky for travel due to its bad condition.

“The dilapidated condition of the road has failed to attract the attention of the elected representatives as they only visit their voters at the time of elections,” the jeep driver deplored.

He said the road remained blocked for the whole day recently after a vehicle met an accident.

Mian Sohrab Khan, another local resident, said he had to visit a mechanic for maintenance of his car twice or thrice a week as vehicles developed faults due to bad road condition. He said people were told that the government had approved reconstruction of the road with the assistance of Asian Development Bank, but practical work was yet to begin.

Javid Khan, Damorai village council chairman, regretted that the government had no concern for the suffering of the people due to bad road. He urged the government to reconstruct the road as soon as possible.

Tehsil chairman Waqar Ahmad Khan said the road had long been in bad shape. However, he claimed due to his efforts, the former chief minister had included the project in the ADB-funded projects.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2023