CHITRAL, Aug 5: People of border villages of Arandu and Arsoon here have no proper source of earning livelihood, which force them to seek employment outside their mountainous area.

Talking to Dawn here on Sunday, a group of people from the valleys said that agriculture was possible on a limited scale due to mountainous topography of the area and their sole source of earning was cattle farming, which gave them too low dividend to support their families.

They have urged the government that the youth of the area should be preferred in recruitment for border force and Chitral Scouts, which could reduce unemployment in the area.

Ghafar Ali, a resident of Arsoon valley, said that the area lacked basic communication, health and education infrastructure, as successive governments had been neglecting development of the border areas and welfare of people.

He said that in the absence of schooling facilities, literacy rate was very low and this was one of the basic factors causing poverty, as obtaining employment was not possible without sufficient education.

Mr Ali, who was here for treatment of his ailment in DHQ hospital, said that they had to transport their patients to Chitral by spending thousands of rupees while coming for treatment and staying in hotel.

He said that the youth of the valley usually travelled to other cities of the country for employment, while a small number of people also opted to go to Afghanistan for labour jobs.

Zahid Ali, a resident of Arandu, said that people of Arandu and Arsoon had been facing similar problems, including lack of infrastructure facilities and jobs.

He said that they usually faced a tough time in winter season when most parts of the area remained cut off from rest of the district, resulting in severe shortage of daily-use commodities.

Mr Zahid said that the only source of cattle farming was hampered by a number of factors, including extended winter, lack of fodder and foliage, diseases and absence of medicines.