Relief supplies for Yarkhun, Laspur valleys demanded

ISLAMABAD: The government should declare the snow- and avalanche-affected areas of Ghizer and Chitral districts as calamity-hit and provide relief to the people on an emergency basis.
This was sated by Abdul Jehan Khan, a social worker from Ghizer district, and Suleman Shah, former nazim of Laspur union council in Chitral, while speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday.
They said avalanches had killed scores of people and blocked villages in the Yarkhun and Laspur valleys of Chitral. Similarly, many areas in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan have also been blocked by unprecedented rains and snowfall.
They said the bodies of the victims buried under an avalanche in the Yarkhun valley could not be recovered on time due to absence of rescue staff as the valley still remained cut-off from rest of the country.
The government has failed to reach out to the affected people despite the passage of many days. Even the National Disaster Management Authority has not taken any initiative to provide emergency relief to the people, they added.
They appealed to the federal government to send helicopters to the affected areas to carry out relief operations and save the residents from further losses.