CHITRAL: Residents of Koh, Charun and Mastuj union councils have demanded of the National Highway Authority (NHA) to include vital culverts in the design of Chitral-Shandur road project to ensure irrigation water flow to the areas along the under-construction road.

Talking to local journalists at Chitral Press Club led by the district president of PML-N, Abdul Wali Khan advocate and others here on Sunday, they lamented that due to the shortage of water to the various areas of villages from Kari to Booni, the cereal crops including vegetables and fruit orchards had started withering away.

They said that the NHA officials were approached in this regard right from the beginning of construction work on the road three years ago to address the issue but they didn’t pay any attention to their complaints.

“The negligence of the NHA officials has now created a major issue for the dwellers on the left bank of the road, as they are unable to dig or break the road to allow irrigation water to pass through it, which could have been directed beneath the road through a culvert structure,” they slammed.

Abdul Wali Khan added that the road had been aligned in such a way that it passed through the centres of the villages of Kari, Raagh, Koghuzi, Mori Lasht, Mroi, Barenis, Reshun, Kuragh and Parwak. They warned that the situation would become much problematic if culverts were not provided at the necessary points in these villages.

The version of the NHA’s project director for Chitral-Shandur road couldn’t be obtained despite repeated attempts by Dawn as his cell phone was inaccessible.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2024