GILGIT: The continuous landslides for three to four days have blocked Bar Valley Road in Nagar district, disconnecting two villages’ access to other areas.

The district administration, with the help of local people, is making efforts to build alternative routes to restore land access to the areas.

According to local people, Bar Valley Road connects Bar village and Budalas village in Nagar. Unusual, massive landslides from mountain areas blocked the road near Chalt Valley, the entry point of the villages, on Thursday.

Mohammad Ehsan, a local, told Dawn that the area was prone to landslides as the road passing through the mountain was unstable.

“In rainy days, winds cause landslides; however, this time massive landslides occurred in the area, which swept away half a kilometre of road without rain or wind blowing,” he said.

Locals said that for the last four days, massive landslides have made it difficult to start work on restoration.

“The residents of two villages have no other road connectivity to access other areas; they have been stranded,” they said.

Another representative of the area, Sheikh Ehsan Ali, said people in the area had no access to other areas.

Local administrative officials visited the area to start restoration work and said that the opening of the road would take two weeks.

“A temporary foot bridge has been constructed over the Bar River to provide alternative foot access to local people,” the officials said.

Local people have demanded the government to take emergency measures to restore access to other areas, saying that patients could not be transported in the area in case of emergency.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2023