Two more killed as floods hit far-off Chitral village

CHITRAL/MANSEHRA: Two persons were killed on Wednesday as flashfloods destroyed 45 houses in Sorech village in Upper Chitral while thousands tourists were still stranded in Kaghan and Manor valleys of Mansehra district

Police officials and locals said the rain-triggered floods hit the entire Sorech village late in the night, killing two persons and destroying 45 houses as well as standing crops and orchards. The dead were identified as Bulbul Ali and wife of Barkat Ali.

At least 35 houses, roads and bridges were washed away by floods in both Upper and Lower Chitral a day earlier. The locals said that Upper Chitral still remained disconnected with other parts of the country as the Chitral-Shandur Road had been washed away by the river in Reshun village.

Meanwhile, thousands of tourists, most of them women and children, remained stranded in Kaghan and Manor valleys of Mansehra district as a makeshift bridge was yet to be erected on Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road in the Mahandri area.

“Though the advisor to the chief minister on tourism and culture, and deputy commissioner visited the affected areas, no concrete measures have been taken to address agonies and hardships faced by flashfloods affected families in Manor valley,†Shakar Aziz, a local, told reporters.

The tourists stranded in Kaghan and affectees of Manor valley continued to suffer the brunt of the flashfloods triggered by the recent monsoon downpour which wreaked havoc on both picturesque valleys on Tuesday.

The residents of Manor valley are cut off from the rest of the district as four bridges which were washed away in the floods were yet be rehabilitated.

“The affected families in Manor valley have been facing food shortage as all roads and bridges including the central bridge at MNJ road were washed away,†Aziz said.

He said the five electric turbines installed on local streams to supply electricity to parts of the valley were also washed away.

“Bodies of a woman and her son were swept away by the torrents are yet to be fished out,†Aziz said.

He said that rough monsoon weather was still battering the indigenous communities.

Advisor to Chief Minister on Tourism and Culture Zahid Chanzeb and local MPA Munir Hussain Lughmani visited Mahandri and met the affected traders and locals.

Lughmani said the government would compensate the families whose loved ones were swept away in the flashfloods and those who suffered financial losses.

“The NHA is working to erect a temporary bridge over Manor stream at MNJ road and traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan would soon be restored,†he said.

The MPA said that in his resolution adopted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, the government declared an emergency in areas affected by recent flashfloods across the province, including Kaghan and Manor valleys.

A group of visitors moved out of Kaghan valley en route to Chilas via Karakoram Highway in a convoy of vehicles to their respective destinations.

According to the district administration, over 2500 visitors, mostly women and children, were still stranded in Kaghan.