(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The extent of devastation caused by the recent flash floods in Pakistan's scenic, mountainous northern regions can be gauged from the fact that one cannot travel for more than 15 km on any road in Chitral district.
The floods caused widespread destruction throughout the district, starting from Arandu in the south to Baroghil in the north stretching over about 400 km.
The floods have brought untold miseries to the people of Chitral as all types of infrastructure have been devastated, limiting mobility of the residents and depriving them of even drinking and irrigation water besides giving birth to severe food shortage.
The residents of all the 34 sub-valleys have remained confined to their villages for over two weeks as almost all the roads and suspension bridges were the worst-hit throughout the valley.
The executive engineer of communication and works division in Chitral, Maqbool Azam, says that except proper Chitral town there was hardly any village that had not been hit by the disastrous flood.
He said that the current spate of floods affected all the branch valleys and played havoc with all types of physical infrastructure, paralyzing life.
He said that 50 suspension bridges were either washed away or rendered unfit for use and 20 roads to different valleys were also damaged which disconnected different villages from each other.
About the rehabilitation process in the communication sector, he said that roads of only valleys had so far been opened temporarily to traffic, while the three major roads (Booni road, Garam Chashma road and Bumburate road) were given to Frontier Works Organisation for restoration.
He said that the regional chief engineer has opened his camp office in Chitral to supervise the restoration work and efforts are underway to make more bridges and roads usable for traffic.
A retired professor, Shamsun Nizar Fatimi, said that the network of roads, bridges and irrigation channels was the 'lifeline' of the district. He feared starvation in the affected areas if the 'lineline' was not restored on war footings.
Both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz visited the district in the aftermath of the floods and while addressing the affected people in Kuragh expressed their 'determination' to expedite relief work and restoration of the damaged infrastructure.
The tourism industry was hit severely by flash floods as mobility is not possible anymore without restoration of roads.
The major tourist resort of the district the Kailash valley of Bumburate is among the worst-affected places.
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