BATTAGRAM: Local rescuers who took part in an operation along with a zipline company operators have been in the business of installing chairlifts for the transportation of people and goods, and have been rescuing stranded passengers for at least three generations.

Following the successful rescue operation in Battagram a day earlier, Sahib Khan told Dawn that they inherited the business of cable car installation and rescue operations from their grandfather Koka, after whom they named their company Koka and Engineering Company.

He maintained that they had carried out several similar operations in the past, wherein they retrieved precious machinery and saved many lives.

He said they do not charge for rescuing humans from stranded chairlifts in line with the directions from their elders.

Activist claims rescued students not provided proper medical treatment

Sahib Khan’s paternal uncle Aurangzeb told Dawn that he and his father spent their lives in the business of saving lives and installing cable cars. “Now our sons and nephews are associated with the business,” he added.

According to Mr Aurangzeb, they installed a cable car for the army at a height of 5,000 feet in Kashmir’s Khel area.

On the site of the Diamar Basha Dam, they worked with different Chinese companies to transport heavy machinery across the Indus River through chairlifts.

He claimed that they also rescued a brother and sister in Murree who were stuck in a cable car for an entire day and night. Similarly, in Chitral and Gilgit, their company carried out many rescue operations to retrieve heavy machinery that had fallen into the river.

Hassanzeb, a first cousin of Sahib Khan who was also present during the operation, told Dawn that locals had informed them about the Battagram chairlift breakdown and also sent a vehicle to take them to Allai to rescue the people who were stuck in the trolley for hours.

No medical treatment

Separately, a local activist claimed the people rescued from the chairlift were not provided with proper medical assistance by rescue officials, even though a “makeshift hospital was erected on the site”.

According to details provided by activist Dr Fayyaz Panjgul, seven passengers who were rescued through a ground operation at night received no medical treatment following the operation.

A 14-year-old student was not feeling well and also had a wound on his hand, but he was sent home on foot, having to walk to the other side of the mountain, he claimed.

It took the teenager one hour to reach his home and the next morning the district administration called him to the school situated in Batangi, he said, adding that on Wednesday, the student had started crying due to stomach pain while he was being interviewed by the media.

Dr Fayyaz added that he took him to a nearby basic health unit in Bracharr, where he was given basic first aid. The activist said the child was an orphan who lived with his mother in poor circumstances.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtun­khwa’s director of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Dr Muhammad Iqbal, visited the site of the accident and met students and their families.

He also announced upgrading the middle school in Baracharr to the status of a high school and the government high school in Batangi to a higher secondary school.

Assistant District Education Officer Shaukat confirmed that the process of the upgradation has kicked off. He said the secretary also asked them to submit a report about government schools that were being accessed by students through cable cars.

He added that there were about four or five schools in the district and a report has been sent to the secretary’s office.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2023