Snowed out: Villagers protest blockade of link roads

Protestors said that many villages were facing fuel and food shortages.

ABBOTABAD:

Hundreds of villagers held protest over the blockade of link roads caused by snow, disconnecting the Galiyat region from the rest of the country. The protesters, who were raising slogans against the Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) and Communication & Works Department(C&W), also threatened to block the Karakoram Highway if the link roads were not cleared by the authorities concerned.

Despite heavy rain and snow, the villagers showed up to vent their anger. They said that all the link roads of the Galiyat region had been closed after the first snowfall some 25 days back, but despite repeated requests, the GDA and C&W have fallen on deaf ears, further aggravating the miseries of the locals.

They alleged that the GDA had given contracts to private contractors, having backing of some political big shots, but they never bother to turn up. They said that many villages were facing fuel and food shortages and it was increasingly becoming difficult for them to shift critically ill patients to other cities for treatment.

They came down hard on MNA Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi and his son, MPA Sardar Shamoon Yar Khan, saying they have left them in the lurch by showing least interest in their difficulties.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2013.