MANSEHRA: A huge landslide partially blocked the Kunhar River, diverting water to the nearby human settlements and the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road in the Mahandri area here on Sunday.

“We have once again faced the natural calamity as this time around a large part of an alpine mountain has fallen into the Kunhar River diverting its course,” Shakeel Jani, a resident, told Dawn.

Mahandri had been devastated after the flash floods swept away the central bridge on the MNJ Road on July 30, cutting the region off from rest of the country till August 13 when the Frontier Works Organisation installed a steel bridge connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gilgit-Baltistan.

The residents said landslides from the alpine forest continued to fall into the Kunhar River the entire day on Sunday.

Machinery moved to clear blockage to save houses, shops from inundation

A video clip, which went viral on social media, showed a huge mass of land with alpine trees detached from a mountain and fell into the river, causing a huge dust storm.

“The government should adopt extra precautionary measures to avert a big tragedy if landslides continue to divert the river course, which might inundate the nearby population and Mahandri Bazaar,” Mr Jani said.

The irrigation department’s machines, which were earlier moved into Mahandri to clear the artificial lake caused by the flash floods in Manor stream, started clearing the blocked watercourse.

INFLATED POWER BILLS: The inflated electricity bills have irked both the household and commercial consumers, who have demanded of the government to withdraw the hikes incorporated in the power tariff.

“We have limited income resources and can hardly meet our household expenses. This month’s exorbitant electricity bills are beyond our reach to pay,” Sadaqat Ali, a resident, told Dawn on Sunday.

He said the government had frequently increased the electricity tariffs.

Another resident, Mohammad Arif Rajpoot, said he received a Rs40,000 electricity bill for July. “The government should withdraw unjustified tariff hikes,” he demanded.

Mr Rajpoot said electric supply remained suspended most of the day, but even then they received huge bills.

“If the government doesn’t withdraw surcharges and levies, we will be left with no other option but to protest,” he said.

Mohammad Ayub, another resident, said the government should withdraw tariff increases announced from time to time.

A commercial consumer, Fayyaz Solaria, said the record inflation coupled with exorbitant bills had affected the trade and industry.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2024