Gojal: Boat service resuming today
Farhat Ullah
Gojal, March 7: The dammed Hunza River was cleared today for resumption of boat service.
According to details the Jawans of Pakistan Army used rafts to break sheaths of ice covering the 23 kilometer long lake, between Attabad and Hussaini. The boat service had been suspended due to blasting of a temporary blocked created on the lake’s spillway.
The blast has resulted in significant reduction of water level in the dammed river, causing sunk houses, markets and land to resurface in Shishkat, Gulmit, Ghulkin and Hussaini, four o f the affected villages of Gojal valley.
There are reports that the spillway will be blocked again this week for resumption of the excavation work. Another blasting will be conducted in early May, to take the water level further down, according to sources.
The streambed slabs of the upper spillway need to be drilled and blasted to get a meaningful reduction in water level. Meltwater flows will be increasing; so there will be less time to get the work done before the next cofferdam will be overtopped.
I would suggest if a follow up team of honraray professionals from four affected villages would be formed to ensure achieve the desire results and mentoring and monitoring the work of the spill way with the coordination of FWO Team and District administration. If need arises the voluntarily help can be soughted from the people of District Hunza/ Nagar.
Ali Mehr
social activist
Gilgit- Baltistan
Good news to the sufferd and affected people of upper Hunza, Boat service had been suspent for the last three weeks and now resumed. The FWO work created courage and hope by reducing water level at the range of 9 t0 10 feet, It can be reduced more if resources are used properly. Thank Good
i read the comments posted by different people on the resuming board service via Atta Abad Jheel and i found them very imotional in their point of view.but i think resuming board service for upper Gujal after three weeks as mentioned in one of the comments above is not enough and not a permenent solution of the problem. i hav personally been to upper Gujal for saveral time before Atta Abad event and i remember even today how the people of the region used to travel and what type of difficulties they faced on so called metalled road.now after the land sliding the situation became worsed and their problems are increased savral times and they have to pay more to loaders and to the owners of boards, so i suggested that the govt, should seek permanent solution of the problem by expanding the spill way instead of providing expensive and risky boards.