Repair work: Kohistanis take to street in support of their demands

Demand water line repairs, electrification of villages; traffic on KKH suspended for three hours.

KOHISTAN:

Hundreds of people from Komela, Jalkot and Dasu staged a protest on Friday over the local government’s failure to repair a broken water line and delays in electrification of villages, blocking the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and suspending traffic for over three hours.

The rally started from Jamia Masjid Komela and turned into public meeting at Green Chowk in the middle of KKH, where protesters chanted slogans against district administration.

They said that the main water supply line was damaged near Zaidkhar Nala during landslides about eight days back, but despite repeated requests to the Kohistan DC and Public Health authorities, water supply to Komela and adjoining areas has not been restored.

They said that following water supply suspension women, children and elderly people have been forced to fetch water from far-off streams and ponds.



They also criticised WAPDA authorities for delaying electrification of Komela and Dasu, noting that electricity poles were erected a few years back but the lines have yet to be installed. The speakers said that billions of rupees had been released to WAPDA, but the authorities were still delaying the work.

They said Kohistan would be making a considerable contribution in several hydro power projects in the near future, and depriving the citizens of power was tantamount to usurping the basic rights of Kohistanis. They also lambasted at the provincial government for delay in inaugurating the Dasu-Thakot road and warned that if the road was not opened for public use by January 25 and work on electric supply to Dasu and other areas was not initiated, they would forcibly suspend construction work on all local hydropower and other projects underway in Kohistan district.

PML-N Kohistan President Said Gul Badsha, Maulana Noor Nabi, Waliullah Toheedi, Maulana Ibrahim Palas and Abdul Jabbar were among those who spoke to the protesters.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2013.