SHANGLA: The residents of Shangla on Tuesday demanded that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and elected representatives resume work on the major Alpuri-Shangla Top Road, which has been abandoned by the contractor after carrying out digging work.

Residents told journalists that the major road, which connected Shangla with the rest of the country via Swat, had been in bad condition and was causing traffic accidents.

They said their cars persistently developed faults due to the dilapidated road.

Locals said that the National Highway Authority (NHA) had awarded the contract three years ago, but the contractor after digging the road disappeared, leaving heavy machines on the road.

Syed Murad Ali Tirmizi, a local resident, said that he recently had survived a traffic accident due to the poor road condition, adding that he had to travel to Shangla every week, an uphill task as it took more time besides causing damage to the vehicle.

He said that people used the main road to shift their patients to hospitals in Swat, but traveling on this road was very painful for the patients, as their condition further deteriorated.

Imran Khan, another local resident, said, it was a crucial road as hundreds of vehicles ply on it daily, but the authorities concerned did not pay any heed to this urgent issue.

Adnan Munir said they made several attempts to reach out to the contractor, who is a resident of the Dir, but to no avail, nor did NHA take any action on their requests.

This correspondent made several calls and messages to Shangla deputy commissioner, Muhammad Fawad Khan, to get his version but he did not respond.

The local residents have threatened of street agitation if work on the road did not resume immediately.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2025