UPPER CHITRAL
Hundreds of people of Brep valley on Friday staged a protest rally for the second time during this week for payment of compensation packages as announced by the former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtukhwa Mahmood Khan.
The rally was led by the former councilor Shelly Sultan and Nazim Ahmed Khan of Village Council Kozh. The protesters observed a complete shutter down in Brep Bazaar and blocked the main road of Yarkhun Valley and Brughal for several hours.
The speakers on the occasion said that on August 19, 2022 the flash floods due to GLOF completely damaged some 60 houses while hundreds of acres of apple and other fruit orchards, standing crops, cultivated land, the only utility store in the area, a mosque and three congregation halls (Jamat Khana) were also washed away and several families became homeless.
The floods also cause damage to shops, women’s shopping center and girls’ high school and other government and non-government buildings.
They recalled that the then Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan visited the area and announced Rs 500 million package for the affected areas, including Rs 250 million for Upper Chitral and Rs 25 million for Lower Chitral but unfortunately no payment was made until now.
They further recalled that AKAH Regional Program Manager Ameer Muhammad along with Canadian embassy delegates and officials visited the flooded area and on the occasion the Canadian diplomat announced Rs 250 million aid for the area but later the aid was diverted to other areas of Chitral.
The protesters through a unanimous charger of demand urged the government to pay attention to the miseries of the locals and release compensation packages for the affectees besides reconstructing and rehabilitating the damaged infrastructure.
