A girl was killed and several houses were damaged in rain-related incidents in Hazara division of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir (AJK) as rain continued to play havoc in the two regions on Thursday. Electricity, road and telecommunication networks remained suspended in Azad Kashmir for the fourth day.
Police and rescue workers told The Express Tribune that Mehnaz Bibi, 15, of Kehva Gharbi locality of Abbottabad was on her way to school when a heavy mass of soil fell on her, killing her on the spot. Her body was recovered after three hours by rescuers. Meanwhile, two houses were destroyed in Kali Mati village in Balakot due to rains, while over a dozen others in the area were partially damaged, police and locals said. Rains also damaged equipment in three water supply schemes in Mansehra and inundated several roads. A couple of mud houses in Bakot area of Abbottabad were also damaged.
In AJK, electricity, road and telecommunication networks remained suspended in different localities of Kotli, Mirpur and Bhimbher districts of Mirpur Division. Low-lying areas of the Mirpur-Kotli Highway were inundated due to a rainstorm in the early hours of Thursday, disrupting traffic for several hours. Rainwater also entered roadside buildings in the thickly-populated areas of Sangot, located close to Mangla Dam. Seasonal water channels in different areas across the Mirpur district were also flooded, officials of the local administration said.
In Mirpur city, rainstorm uprooted tees, hoardings and electricity poles and damaged several mud houses. Brick kiln workers living in the city’s slums were most affected by the downpour, officials said.
In New Mirpur City, where houses for the people displaced by the Mangla Dam Raising Project (MDRP) are being built, several roads were blocked due to landslides or inundated as drains were choked with mud. Rainwater accumulating in construction sites caused damage to buildings and also entered several houses in New Mirpur City, Mangla dam Affected Young Action Forum President Attique Sadhuzai told The Express Tribune.
Locals have urged the AJK government to take notice of the sub-standard construction of houses in the new town and demanded early construction of buildings to house the people that have been displaced by the MDRP.
In Muzaffarabad Division, highways leading from Muzaffarabad to Leepa and Neelum valleys, which had earlier been closed for traffic due to rain-induced land sliding, were opened for light traffic. Telecommunication network, however, remained suspended in different areas of Muzaffarabad.
Despite repeated attempts, spokespersons of the recently-established Flood Warning Centre in Mirpur or the Mangla Dam Resettlement Organisation could be contacted.
Mangla Dam’s water level rises
The water level of Mangla Dam is swiftly rising due to rains in AJK and along the Himalayas. The dam’s water level reached 1184.4 feet on Thursday, against its dead level of 1,040 feet. But as the reservoir fills up, it bodes bad news for people still living on the banks of the dam. They have vowed to resist filling of the dam to its maximum level by refusing to vacate their homes for as long as they are not fully compensated.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012.
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