Snowfall cuts link to Chitral villages

Dawn, January 13, 2005

By Zar Alam Khan

ISLAMABAD: Life remains at a standstill in the
remote valleys of Chitral as the distant areas have been
cut off from other parts of the district after heavy
snowfall over a week ago.
The two-foot deep snow in the mountainous and hilly areas
of the Mastuj and Yarkhun union councils has confined people
to their houses. Huge avalanches have blocked the only jeep
track north of the tehsil headquarters, about 100km from
the Chitral town.
The record snow fell after the October hailstorm which had
wrought havoc to the whole district, destroying 70 per cent of
crops and fruit trees besides ruining communication
infrastructure.
In the aftermaths of the October devastation, the area was
totally kept out of the lukewarm relief support announced by
the government for the district followed by the latest spell
that still keeps the Yarkhun valley isolated.
The supply of daily-use items, especially wheat, has been
stopped and the already insufficient stocks are running out.
People have started felling fruit trees for use as fuel-wood
in the chilling weather. Due to the absence of healthcare
facilities, patients are unable to reach the already ill-equipped
district headquarters hospital in Chitral town. The district also
remains cut off from rest of the country due to the closure of
the Lowari Pass.
In the northern-most border town of Boroghil, the situation
is said to be even worse. According to reports, people are
living amid knee-deep snow without links with other areas. A
large number of cattle, on which the locals depend for their
livelihood, have perished while supply of necessary commodities
remains stopped.
It may be pointed out that a few villages near the tehsil
headquarters, the small villages and hamlets numbering over
hundred in the Yarkhun valley have no telephone and hospital
facilities.
The harsh weather has also hampered work on the Parwak-Mastuj
road project which the people have launched on a self-help basis
after the government stopped funds when about 80 per cent work on
the scheme was completed over two years ago. The area people are
contributing money and carrying out work on the project for the
last three months.