CHITRAL: District president of the PPP and former MPA from Chitral Zainul Abedin has demanded of the government to declare emergency in Chitral as the population of about 500,000 was besieged due to the closure of the Lowari Pass and cancellation of PIA flights, causing shortage of daily-use items.
He said life-saving drugs in hospitals were in shortage and urged the government to provide the medicines to all the healthcare centres immediately.
The PPP leader regretted that no remedial measures had been taken by the government despite the fact that he had already approached the president and prime minister and other ministers concerned and apprised them of the hardships of the people.
He said the immediate solution to the problems of the people of Chitral was the opening of the recently-constructed Lowari Tunnel even for a short duration on a daily basis without disturbing the pace of work.—Zahiruddin
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
NHA, Sambu to discuss Lowari Tunnel opening
PESHAWAR: The National Highway Authority and Korean construction company Sambo will discuss technical aspects about opening of the newly constructed Lowari tunnel for light traffic on Jan 28.
Following a request from NWFP Miniser for Population Welfare Saleem Khan, the Federal Minister for Communication Arbab Alamgir Khan has convened a high-level meeting of the technical experts of NHA and the Korean company to deliberate on the issue, says a handout issued here on Monday.
The meeting besides others will also be attended by federal minister Najmuddin Khan and NWFP minister Saleem Khan.
The provincial minister had recently apprised Mr Alamgir of the difficulties faced by the Chitrali people due to the closure of Lowari top and requested him to open the tunnel for light traffic according to weekly schedule so as to mitigate the miseries of Chitralis.
The federal minister assured him that after consultation with the concerned technical experts, he would take every possible step to that effect.
Monday, January 26, 2009
MNA seeks opening of Afghan route for Chitral
DAWN-----
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin has asked the government to immediately hold talks with the authorities in Kabul to open Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass as an alternative route to his district which remains cut-off from rest of the country after the closure of the Lowari Pass.
Thousands of people have been stranded in both Chitral and Peshawar after the PIA also cancelled its flights to the district due to inclement weather. Besides, supply of essential commodities including petroleum products, LPG cylinders, food items and life-saving drugs has been stopped for the last one-and-a-half months due to which the people are facing a crisis-like situation, he said while talking to Dawn.
For the last over 15 years, the people of the valley had been using the Kunar-Nawa pass route via Afghanistan during the closure of the Lowari Pass, the only land route connecting the valley with other parts of the country. However, due to the military operation in Mohmand Agency, this route has also been shut on the Chitralis.
The MNA criticised the Foreign Office for its failure to take the issue seriously and hold talks with Kabul to open the alternative route. He said people going from Peshawar to Chitral were allowed to use the route without hindrance by Afghan authorities but the security personnel in Chitral were not allowing those coming from Chitral to enter Afghanistan saying they had not received any directives to open the route.
He said despite repeated appeals, the government had failed to comprehend the gravity of the situation and take measures to resolve the problem. He warned that if the authorities did not act timely, his constituency would face a humanitarian crisis.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin has asked the government to immediately hold talks with the authorities in Kabul to open Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass as an alternative route to his district which remains cut-off from rest of the country after the closure of the Lowari Pass.
Thousands of people have been stranded in both Chitral and Peshawar after the PIA also cancelled its flights to the district due to inclement weather. Besides, supply of essential commodities including petroleum products, LPG cylinders, food items and life-saving drugs has been stopped for the last one-and-a-half months due to which the people are facing a crisis-like situation, he said while talking to Dawn.
For the last over 15 years, the people of the valley had been using the Kunar-Nawa pass route via Afghanistan during the closure of the Lowari Pass, the only land route connecting the valley with other parts of the country. However, due to the military operation in Mohmand Agency, this route has also been shut on the Chitralis.
The MNA criticised the Foreign Office for its failure to take the issue seriously and hold talks with Kabul to open the alternative route. He said people going from Peshawar to Chitral were allowed to use the route without hindrance by Afghan authorities but the security personnel in Chitral were not allowing those coming from Chitral to enter Afghanistan saying they had not received any directives to open the route.
He said despite repeated appeals, the government had failed to comprehend the gravity of the situation and take measures to resolve the problem. He warned that if the authorities did not act timely, his constituency would face a humanitarian crisis.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Brep BHU worker deprived of GP fund
Report GH Farooqui, Chitral
A junior technician working at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) of Brep (Yarkhun valley) has alleged that two officials working at the EDO health office - Riaz and Jamaluddin - have drawn a large amount from his General Provident Fund (GP Fund) account faking his signature.
In his written statement, Ali Aman disclosed that he had submitted an application for drawing of the GP Fund in advance on December 29, 2008 but to his utter surprise he was told that Rs103,000 had already been drawn from his account in the year 2006. He said another embezzlement case had been unearthed in the health department in which some staff were convicted. He also submitted an application to the Anti-Corruption Department in the present case for taking action against the accsued. He appealled to the high-ups of the health department to conduct an inquiry and take action against the accused staff for recovery of his amount.
Meanwhile, this correspondent visited the EDO health office to seek the version of the accused persons. They said Ali Aman, junior technician, had submitted an application for GP Fund advance on 8.7.2006 which was forwarded to DCO Chitral for approval and who approved his application. They said Ali Aman had drawn Rs100,000 as GP Fund in advance in December, 2008 and Rs65,000 in October, 2002. After proper approval of his GP Fund advance request he was paid the required amount after deducting Rs23,000 as his previous arrears. They said that an departmental inquiry was also conducted by Dr Rahmat Aman, Deputy DHO, who also submitted his report saying Ali Aman had drawn his GP Fund in advance. His specimen signatures have also been forwarded to the laboratory concerend for verification, they added.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
District bar Chitral to get 0.5 million grant
CHITRAL: A delegation of District Bar Association Chitral led by Khurshid Hussain Mughul, president of Chitral Bar Association, met Federal Minister for Law Farooq H. Nike at his chamber in Islamabad. The delegation discussed different matters and apprised the minsiter of their problems.
The delegation also demanded establishment of a bar room at Chitral. They also requested the minister for construction of a library and provision of other facilities to lawyers of Chitral. The president of the Bar also requested the minister for posting of female judges at family courts in Chitral and construction of waiting room for women clients.
The federal minister assured the delegation of resolution of the problems. He also announced a Rs500,000 grant for the District Bar Association Chitral. --GH Farooqui
The delegation also demanded establishment of a bar room at Chitral. They also requested the minister for construction of a library and provision of other facilities to lawyers of Chitral. The president of the Bar also requested the minister for posting of female judges at family courts in Chitral and construction of waiting room for women clients.
The federal minister assured the delegation of resolution of the problems. He also announced a Rs500,000 grant for the District Bar Association Chitral. --GH Farooqui
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Lowari tunnel festivities snowballed
By Our Correspondent
CHITRAL: The programmes of festivities scheduled to celebrate completion of the first phase of Lowari rail tunnel were to be cancelled due to snowfall here on Wednesday.
Public holiday had been announced by the district government to ensure maximum number of people in the programmes which included performing special prayers in congregations, visit to the tunnel and public rallies.
District Nazim Maghfirat Shah said the festivities would be held later. He said completion of the first phase was a landmark in the history of Chitral providing inhabitants ‘all-weather’ route who were hitherto virtual prisoners within the boundaries of the lofty mountains of Hindukush range.
Meanwhile, Chitral valley continued to receive intermittent snowfall for the last two days and the higher altitudes had reportedly received more than three feet snow. Vehicular traffic had been suspended to many valleys including Terich, Golan, Oveer, Yarkhoon and Karimabad.--Dawn
CHITRAL: The programmes of festivities scheduled to celebrate completion of the first phase of Lowari rail tunnel were to be cancelled due to snowfall here on Wednesday.
Public holiday had been announced by the district government to ensure maximum number of people in the programmes which included performing special prayers in congregations, visit to the tunnel and public rallies.
District Nazim Maghfirat Shah said the festivities would be held later. He said completion of the first phase was a landmark in the history of Chitral providing inhabitants ‘all-weather’ route who were hitherto virtual prisoners within the boundaries of the lofty mountains of Hindukush range.
Meanwhile, Chitral valley continued to receive intermittent snowfall for the last two days and the higher altitudes had reportedly received more than three feet snow. Vehicular traffic had been suspended to many valleys including Terich, Golan, Oveer, Yarkhoon and Karimabad.--Dawn
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Completion of tunnel digging brings joy to Chitral
Dawn
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: Eager to put behind the memories of tortuous days spent fighting the vagaries of nature completely cut-off from the outside world for almost five months each year, the long-awaited moment draws nearer for the people of Chitral to celebrate the opening of an all-weather land route to their scenic valley through the Lowari Tunnel.
As the first phase of the project completes on Wednesday with the meeting of tunnel being simultaneously dug in Chitral on the northern side and Dir district in the south, the 14,850 square kilometre valley of about 500,000 people nestling around the mighty Hindukush mountains integrates into the country for the first time in real geographical terms.
People in all parts of the district and Chitralis living in other parts of the country as well as abroad are celebrating the event as a thanksgiving day.
The district government has announced a public holiday on the occasion. Variety of programmes, including cultural shows, will be held in different parts of the valley as well as in major cities where Chitralis live in large numbers.
The Rs8 billion rail tunnel will, however, be opened for regular traffic at the end of 2010. Work on the project started in October 2005 from the southern side, while former president Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the project in Chitral in July 2006.
The idea to build the tunnel dated back to the early 1890s when the British wanted to have an all-weather access road to the then princely state after having a foothold in the area as part of their ‘Great Game’ in the region. However, the proposal was quickly dropped after the imperialist power feared that the tunnel could pave the way for the Red Army to infiltrate into the Indian subcontinent.
After independence, the government of Pakistan prepared the first feasibility report on the project in 1955; however, no progress was made afterwards due to shortage of funds and lack of technical expertise.
After coming to power, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sanctioned the project and construction work started in 1975. By 1977, the Frontier Works Organisation in collaboration with the Lowari Tunnel Organisation had completed digging of up to 500 metres from Dir side.
However, with the then coalition government of Maulana Mufti Mehmud and Abdul Wali Khan in the NWFP at loggerheads with Mr Bhutto, the project fell prey to their political discord as the former opposed the project terming it wastage of money.
Soon, work on the site was abandoned after spending millions of rupees. With the passage of time the cost of the project continued to escalate.
In 1994, the National Assembly was informed that the estimated cost of the project had touched Rs3 billion mark from the only Rs500 million in 1975.
However, the people of the valley continued to raise the issue at every forum and demanded the successive governments to construct the tunnel to end their communication-related problems.
During the Shandur Festival in 2001, former president Pervez Musharraf promised that the project would be undertaken to provide an all-weather route to the district besides linking the country with the Central Asian states.
On June 10, 2003, at the inaugural ceremony of Kohat Tunnel, then NWFP governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah urged Gen Musharraf to fulfil the longstanding demand of the people of Chitral by sanctioning the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
Gen Musharraf asked the NHA to take up the project on a priority basis, adding the expertise used in Kohat should be utilised for the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
The NHA awarded the contracts of the Rs7.9 billion project to Korea’s Sambu company and two Pakistani firms. The project was scheduled to be completed in two phases in four years.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project on July 27, 2004. The consultancy and PC-I were prepared by a Swedish-Austrian company – Geo Consult-Typsa – while supervision of the construction work was assigned to Dr Johann Golsar of the famous NATM system of tunnelling.
Contract agreements for construction of northern and southern access roads were signed on May 12, 2004. The 9-km-long northern access road from Drosh in Chitral to the tunnel’s portal cost Rs200 million while the 9.3-km-long southern access road from upper Dir was to be completed at a cost of over Rs193 million.
According to the design, the tunnel linking Mirkhani in Chitral and Gujar post in upper Dir is 7.23 metres wide and 7.06 metres high. There will be a 0.9 metre walkway on either side. The elevation of the southern portal will be 7,920 feet while that in the northern side will be 7,741 feet.
In the second phase, railway tracks will be laid in the tunnel and two trains, especially designed by a Swedish company, will ferry passengers and vehicles, crossing the tunnel in about 11 minutes.
At present, loaded trucks manoeuvre the 62 sharp and hairpin bends on the pass in about three hours. The pass remains closed from December to April every year due to heavy snow, during which communication to and from the district becomes restricted to the PIA air service, that too depending on weather conditions.
For the last 10 years, the residents had been using a dilapidated road through the Kunar province of Afghanistan during the closure of the pass. But that route also remains closed now due to military operations in the tribal areas.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: Eager to put behind the memories of tortuous days spent fighting the vagaries of nature completely cut-off from the outside world for almost five months each year, the long-awaited moment draws nearer for the people of Chitral to celebrate the opening of an all-weather land route to their scenic valley through the Lowari Tunnel.
As the first phase of the project completes on Wednesday with the meeting of tunnel being simultaneously dug in Chitral on the northern side and Dir district in the south, the 14,850 square kilometre valley of about 500,000 people nestling around the mighty Hindukush mountains integrates into the country for the first time in real geographical terms.
People in all parts of the district and Chitralis living in other parts of the country as well as abroad are celebrating the event as a thanksgiving day.
The district government has announced a public holiday on the occasion. Variety of programmes, including cultural shows, will be held in different parts of the valley as well as in major cities where Chitralis live in large numbers.
The Rs8 billion rail tunnel will, however, be opened for regular traffic at the end of 2010. Work on the project started in October 2005 from the southern side, while former president Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the project in Chitral in July 2006.
The idea to build the tunnel dated back to the early 1890s when the British wanted to have an all-weather access road to the then princely state after having a foothold in the area as part of their ‘Great Game’ in the region. However, the proposal was quickly dropped after the imperialist power feared that the tunnel could pave the way for the Red Army to infiltrate into the Indian subcontinent.
After independence, the government of Pakistan prepared the first feasibility report on the project in 1955; however, no progress was made afterwards due to shortage of funds and lack of technical expertise.
After coming to power, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sanctioned the project and construction work started in 1975. By 1977, the Frontier Works Organisation in collaboration with the Lowari Tunnel Organisation had completed digging of up to 500 metres from Dir side.
However, with the then coalition government of Maulana Mufti Mehmud and Abdul Wali Khan in the NWFP at loggerheads with Mr Bhutto, the project fell prey to their political discord as the former opposed the project terming it wastage of money.
Soon, work on the site was abandoned after spending millions of rupees. With the passage of time the cost of the project continued to escalate.
In 1994, the National Assembly was informed that the estimated cost of the project had touched Rs3 billion mark from the only Rs500 million in 1975.
However, the people of the valley continued to raise the issue at every forum and demanded the successive governments to construct the tunnel to end their communication-related problems.
During the Shandur Festival in 2001, former president Pervez Musharraf promised that the project would be undertaken to provide an all-weather route to the district besides linking the country with the Central Asian states.
On June 10, 2003, at the inaugural ceremony of Kohat Tunnel, then NWFP governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah urged Gen Musharraf to fulfil the longstanding demand of the people of Chitral by sanctioning the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
Gen Musharraf asked the NHA to take up the project on a priority basis, adding the expertise used in Kohat should be utilised for the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
The NHA awarded the contracts of the Rs7.9 billion project to Korea’s Sambu company and two Pakistani firms. The project was scheduled to be completed in two phases in four years.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project on July 27, 2004. The consultancy and PC-I were prepared by a Swedish-Austrian company – Geo Consult-Typsa – while supervision of the construction work was assigned to Dr Johann Golsar of the famous NATM system of tunnelling.
Contract agreements for construction of northern and southern access roads were signed on May 12, 2004. The 9-km-long northern access road from Drosh in Chitral to the tunnel’s portal cost Rs200 million while the 9.3-km-long southern access road from upper Dir was to be completed at a cost of over Rs193 million.
According to the design, the tunnel linking Mirkhani in Chitral and Gujar post in upper Dir is 7.23 metres wide and 7.06 metres high. There will be a 0.9 metre walkway on either side. The elevation of the southern portal will be 7,920 feet while that in the northern side will be 7,741 feet.
In the second phase, railway tracks will be laid in the tunnel and two trains, especially designed by a Swedish company, will ferry passengers and vehicles, crossing the tunnel in about 11 minutes.
At present, loaded trucks manoeuvre the 62 sharp and hairpin bends on the pass in about three hours. The pass remains closed from December to April every year due to heavy snow, during which communication to and from the district becomes restricted to the PIA air service, that too depending on weather conditions.
For the last 10 years, the residents had been using a dilapidated road through the Kunar province of Afghanistan during the closure of the pass. But that route also remains closed now due to military operations in the tribal areas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Awesome and rugged
Beauty of Chitral
Kishmanja, a beautiful village in Yarkhun valley
Lush green
DIZG: threatened by floods
The legendary village of Ayun in Chitral
On way to Bumburet
Dizg, Yarkhun
About Me
- Zar Alam Khan Razakhel
- Village Dizg, Yarkhun valley, Chitral, Pakistan
- I blog at http://chitraltoday.net (ChitralToday) about Chitral, its people, culture, traditions and issues. I have been writing about Chitral since 2000. Chitral is a scenic valley in the extreme north-west of Pakistan.