SHANGLA: People here on Thursday demanded of the district administration to remove mass of dirt and rock from the main Bisham-Swat Road.

Landslides had hit the Bisham-Swat Road and other link roads during the recent weeklong spell of snow and rainfall in the district.

The residents said the roads were opened to traffic, but the boulders were still present on the roads, rendering the lives of travelers vulnerable.

Syed Jamshid Ali Shah said that for the fifth day, the landslide debris had been lying on the road to the misery of the users of the Bisham-Swat Road.

He said the debris lay in different areas of Bisham-Swat road, which was daily used by the people to visit the district headquarters Alpuri.

Salman Ali, another local, said that a portion of the bridge collapsed near Machar during recent rain, which also poses a threat to commuters as a vehicle already fell from it and the driver was injured in the incident.

He said it was the only district where landslide debris remained unattended for a long time and even for years in some cases.

Rasheed Ahmad of Khatak Sar said a landslide hit the Butyal Khattak Sar Road near the police station in Bisham but the mass of dirt and rock hadn’t been removed despite repeated requests to the administration.

He said a mini jeep also skidded off the road due to the debris last year, critically injuring four persons, but the administration did not address the issue.

The residents demanded removal of landslide debris from the roads for the safety of travelers.

When contacted, assistant commissioner of Alpuri Mohammad Hamid Siddiqui said that work was under way on the alternative route at Machar, where a bridge had collapsed, and the road would be opened to traffic in the next few days.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2025