CHITRAL: Residents of Chitral city have complained about encroachments on both sides of the River Chitral saying commercial buildings are put up every year in violation of the River Protection Ordinance, 2001, which bans construction near rivers and streams.

They said many structures were constructed in the river’s course in the recent years due to the negligence of authorities prompting others to follow suit.

Chairman of the Jughoor village council Sajjad Ahmad Khan told Dawn that the recent downpour-induced flooding in the River Chitral and the accelerated melting of glaciers exposed the situation as floodwaters restricted by huge buildings created problems for the downstream places, including Shahi Fort.

He said encroachments on the banks of the river and its tributaries showed that the writ of the government was nowhere.

Say illegal structures threatening villages

”Anyone, who has finances for construction, fearlessly embarks upon a building project in the midst of the river in the winter season,” he said.

Mr Khan said the people had also encroached upon streams and tributaries of the River Chitral in Jughoor, Denin and Chitral Gol areas threatening nearby villages.

He feared that there would be a disaster if flash floods were diverted by the structures illegally put up in the streams.

Experts said under Section 3(1)(a) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa River Protection Ordinance, 2002, no one would construct or undertake any physical work of any commercial or non-commercial building and undertake any other development work within 200 feet to be measured along the slope beyond high water limit on either side of the river or their tributaries.

They said the ordinance declared that the department of irrigation was the implementation agency of the river aided by the district administration.

However, the executive engineer of Chitral’s irrigation division insisted that action could be taken only after the land settlement process was completed and riverbeds were declared the state’s property.

The residents also complained that sewage water and solid waste were disposed of directly into the River Chitral and its tributaries in the vicinity of Chitral town without let or hindrance.

They regretted that a very few big plazas built on encroached sites had septic tanks and soaking pits despite a ban on them by Section 3(1)(c) of the ordinance.

Meanwhile, the Sarhad Conservation Network has expressed concern over riverside encroachments in Chitral city and said the unauthorised plazas, automobile workshops, cash washes, bus stands, shops, houses and hotels had mushroomed alongside rivers.

The Peshawar-based organisation said in a news release that the videos circulating on social media after the recent floods showed a lack of authority on part of government departments that had allowed illegal encroachments in the River Chitral, which had resulted in the diversion of river waters towards the opposite side of the riverbank.

He demanded strict action against property developers for “putting the entire Chitral city, especially the historical Shahi Qila, Shahi Masjid and iconic Chinar trees under threat.”

When contacted, Lower Chitral DC Mohammad Ali Khan said the riverside encroachments would be removed as floodwaters subsided.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2023