CHITRAL: In order to record their protest against apathetic attitude of the government, the people of Mastuj, Chuinj and Laspur in Upper Chitral on Thursday started work to rehabilitate the Booni-Mastuj road, saying the government had failed to respond to their demands for reconstruction of this important artery.

They said that the road had been lying in disrepair for the last 10 years. About 1,000 villagers reached the site and continued their work for over six hours at Kruider near Mastuj town.

Dr Ismail Wali, a retired professor of the higher education department, told this correspondent on phone that the villagers had no option, but to start work on the road after the elected representatives did not fulfil their pledges.

He said that two years ago when the villagers started hunger strike the CM’s aide Wazir Zada and government functionaries rushed to the venue in Mastuj with the pledge to start work within a few months, but that did not happen.

He said the area people would continue their work till the C&W department practically started work on the site.

Say govt has failed to repair the road despite requests

Saifur Rahman Aziz, another protester, said that accidents had become the order of the day on this route. He said the worst condition of the road could be gauged from the fact that the distance of 27 kilometres from Booni was covered by vehicles in ove two hours.

He said that this road connected lower part of Chitral with upper one and onward lead to Gilgit-Baltistan via Shandur Pass.

DROWNED: A young student, identified as Zeeshan, fell from a pedestrian bridge into the river while posing for a selfie and lost his life in Chumurkone village near Chitral city on Thursday.

An official of Rescue 1122 told this scribe that Zeeshan, 22, hailed from Defence Housing Authority, Lahore, and was living with his relatives in Bakarabad. He said the Rescue1122 officials retrieved the body near Orghoch village.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2020