MANSEHRA: A woman and a minor girl were swept away on Wednesday after authorities discharged water from Dubair Khawar dam in Lower Kohistan district without formal warning.

The incident occurred as the two were crossing the dried bed of Dubair stream on foot, according to district head of Rescue 1122 Sajid Ali.

He told reporters that the search for bodies was under way in Dubair stream and Indus River.

The official said that the woman and the 12-year-old girl were caught unawares when the water was released from the reservoir due to high inflow, and were swept away by torrents.

He said that floodwaters took the bodies from the Dubair stream to the Indus River and therefore, rescue teams had been searching for them at various points of the river.

Four men, all drivers, drowned in the same stream last year due to flooding after the Wapda opened the spillways of the dam.

Floodwaters also destroyed the adjoining road and infrastructure in the area.

Resident Abdul Hakeem told reporters that he and many other locals had been living on the street since the last year’s flash flooding.

He said that the people would continue to suffer if the Wapda didn’t inform them before opening spillways.

The resident demanded the installation of an early weather warning system in the region for the safety of the residents.

Other locals also complained about the opening of spillways without warning and said it was really disturbing to see people lose life to the dam water released into the Dubair stream by the Wapda without alerting the local population.

They said that the road, which linked the Karakoram Highway with dozens of villages in Dubairarea, was washed away by floodwaters a year ago but it hadn’t been rebuilt.

Insisting they’re living a miserable life, the residents demanded an early reconstruction of infrastructure to their relief.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2023