General Farooq of NDMA visits lake site
PT Report
Attabad & Gulmit, January 28: Director general of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) visited the artificial lake formed at Hunza River near the disaster hit Attabad village. He was accompanied by speaker of GBLA, former member of NALC, Nazir Sabir, NATCO MD Zafar Iqbal, home secretary Usman Younis, DC Hunza – Nagar Zafar Waqar Taj and Dr Khuwaja Khan of the Ismaili Regional Council, among others.
The general instructed FWO workers, NHA and B&R personnel to expedite work on breeching the artificial dam. He also met some Chinese engineers who have joined the FWO workers recently to create a breech in the lake. The work is going to take around two months, a Chinese engineer told journalists.
The general, as reported by Daily Mahasib, has said that if precautionary measures had been taken earlier, based on the research and survey findings of FOCUS and other NGOs the loss could have been reduced. He also instructed the district administration to conduct geological survey of the region to further explore and identify areas at risk.
Our correspondent adds from Gulmit – DG of NDMA, Wazir Baig, Mutabiat Shah, Nazir Sabir and other government officials visited Ayeenabad Shishkat today to observe the destruction caused by a fast expanding lake formed on the Hunza River. They also visited office of the relief commissioner at F.G.Boys High School, Chamangul.
Youth of the village put tough questions to the visitors and said that despite of several VIP visits no tangible work can be seen taking place at the lake site. They urged the representatives and government officials to use their mandate and authority to provide relief to people of Gojal valley by releasing water from the artificial lake and urgently linking the valley to rest of the country by opening up KKH.
They also condemned the ideas of creating a dam in the area.
General Farooq assured the youth that the government is using all its energy and resources to open the lake, besides supplying food, fuel and other essential commodities to the 25, 000 people of Gojal valley.
Also see Zulfiqar’s report at DAWN
We are well aware of the performance of FWO, it is not possible and they are not capable to work out on such huge project, it is just to show that the government is working, in real the government is waiting for the overflow of the water and the government is not ready to invest more money in such huge work, FWO have given 45 days time period to release the water from the dam, while the calculation from the experts is around 2 months to overflow the water itself,
It shows their willing not to work sincerely …
The only option to release the water is through Hydraulic pumps,…it will reduce the height of the debars once water is pumped on the debar it will give a way to water to pass through.
The government should consider this suggestion from a Japanese professor which is most efficient economical and practical to implement. And is result oriented to save Shishkat and Gulmit from sinking.
Mahmood Ali,
Islamabad
wow i apprished da crw of FWO keep it up our country needs brave people like you
Fwo will inshallah overcome this problem will finish the work in the time given. Fwo also said it would take two months not 45 days to clear the kkh.