CHITRAL: The string of flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods in different localities of Lower and Upper Chitral have caused abnormal rise in poverty levels as the agriculture sector has emerged as the worst-hit due to the shortage of irrigation water.

The affected villages in Lower Chitral are Sheshi Koh, Ayun, some parts of Bumburate and Rumbur valleys, Arkari, Shoghore, Golen and Koghuzi, and Reshun, Brep, Awi, Booni, Rech, Khot, Parwak, Mastuj and Laspur in Upper Chitral.

Farmers in the effected villages told Dawn that floods in the streams had washed away the embankments of the irrigation channels, causing discontinuation of water, and as a result all the greenery ranging from trees to crops and grass had started withering away.

In almost all the villages, water for both drinking and irrigation purposes is obtained from springs and glaciers situated in the mountains and uplands, which flow down through the streams.

Fear rise in poverty due to water shortage for crops, fruit farms

Sahibur Rehman from Reshun said flash floods in the second week of July swept away the embankments of water channels, discontinuing the flow of water. He said rehabilitation of irrigation channels was beyond the capacity of locals.

He said crops of paddy, maize, pulses, vegetables, fodder and fruit trees had started withering away.

Mr Rehman said the local people chiefly depended on farming for sustenance, and the drying up of plants, crops and all types of vegetation meant they had been deprived of their major source of income and food.

He said every household raised livestock for milk and meat, but the destruction of vegetation meant they would not be able to rear them anymore. He said many families also sold milk products to earn a living.

“The famers in my village have started selling their animals, including cows, oxen, sheep and goats, as vegetation has disappeared and they will have nothing to feed,” he said.

“Now the poor people will have to purchase milk from bazaar daily, which will be an additional burden on their pockets,” he added.

Rehman regretted that the government had yet to start restoring the irrigation channels.

The villages of Brep, Arkari, Karimabad and Booni are famous for producing bumper crop of apple and other fruits, but not this year for want of water.

TWO DIE: Two persons died and four sustained serious injuries when a jeep plunged into a deep ravine on Torkhow Road near Booni here on Friday evening.

An official of Booni police station told Dawn that driver of the vehicle, Tanvir Ahmed of Khot village, and Naveed Ahmed of Rayeen died on the spot.

He said four injured persons, including two women, had been admitted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Booni.

The immediate reason of the accident could not be known. The vehicle was going to Khot from Booni.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024