CHITRAL, March 22: A man was killed and eight people were injured on Thursday when an avalanche hit them in Chapali village of Yarkhun valley, located 150 kilometres from here.

Police sources said that the villagers were digging a channel for small hydropower station on self-help basis when an avalanche from the nearby hillock hit them, killing one Gulab Khan of the village on the spot. The injured were taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital, Booni, where two of them were stated to be in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the road leading to valleys of Torkhow, Oveer, Golen, Karimabad and Garam Chashma remained closed due to the snow avalanche.

PEACE COMMITTEE: The district peace committee in a meeting on Thursday called upon the law-enforcement agencies to take effective measure to check any infiltration of militants into the district from Nooristan province of Afghanistan.

The committee, comprising representatives of civil society organisations in the district, pointed out that such elements had been banished from Swat and other areas of Malakand division for maintenance of peace.

District coordination officer Rahmatullah Wazir chaired the meeting, which was addressed by former district nazim Maghfirat Shah, Khurshid Ali, Maulana Sher Aziz, Saeed Ahmed and others.

They expressed satisfaction over the prevailing harmony among different sections of the society. They said that justice must be ensured to all and the rights of every person should be respected.

The speakers said that the delay in completion of development projects and unchecked hike in prices of daily-use commodities were also a reason for protests and the local administration should take steps to solve people's problems.

The meeting demanded of the government to restart work on the Lowari tunnel project, as suspension of work on the project was creating unrest among the people.