CHITRAL: The residents of Upper Chitral district have demanded of the government to protect part of the Chitral-Booni Road from erosion in the river in Reshun area saying the artery will begin eroding away after the swelling of the Chitral River in the next summer season.

Accompanied by the residents, PTI district president Rahmat Ghazi told reporters here that the river had shifted its course towards the village over the years eroding away acres of fertile land and threatening a section of the road.

He said had the river level not receded by the end of the last summer season, the road would have been washed away by the water disconnecting Upper Chitral district from the rest of the country to the misery of the residents.

Mr Ghazi said the left shoulder of the Chitral-Booni Road had eroded, while fissures had appeared on its surface in the last September.

He said the area’s hilly topography left no space for the road’s diversion in case of erosion and therefore, the cutting of hard rocks would be required.

The PTI leader said Reshun was the first village of Upper Chitral district in the south known for fertile land, where vegetables and fruits were grown on commercial scale, but a major part of the land had eroded in the river.

SRSP INITIATIVE: The Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) has distributed material for micro-business among 80 families in two union councils of Drosh area under a livelihood support initiative.

Additional deputy commissioner (relief) Abdul Wali Khan distributed grocery items during a function here on Saturday.

He said the SRSP’s involvement in community development and emergency response were remarkable and therefore, it had won praise at national and international levels.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2020