PESHAWAR:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Excise and Narcotics Control Haji Manzoor Khan Afridi was approached by the elders of the tourist places Bahrain and Kalam and other adjacent localities of Swat district.
The elders apprised Haji Manzoor Afridi of the dire situation in the wake of flooding in the Swat River due to the melting of snow in the hot summer that caused damages to the Bahrain Bazaar and other parts of the Kalam to Madyan highway.
The Minister of Excise immediately contacted Federal Minister for Communication Maulana Asaad Mahmood, who directed the National Highway Authority (NHA), to open the highway and speed up relief operations in the affected areas.
Both ministers issued instructions to the monitoring room of the communication department from Peshawar and online reviewed the ongoing road clearance and relief operations in the Swat district from Peshawar.
It may be noted that the Bahrain road was submerged in water again due to the flood on Friday and the flood water went towards the Bahrain Bazaar, however, the elders of the area requested assistance from the local administration besides Haji Manzoor Afridi.
On such requests, Manzoor Afridi came immediately to the rescue of the people of Bahrain and Kalam and other areas of the Swat district and immediately contacted the federal and provincial communications ministers and requested them to speed up the relief operation.
Meanwhile, NHA and FWO were directed to take emergency measures for road clearance and rehabilitation works. The federal minister revealed that he is aware of the situation and both the NHA and FWO have been issued highway rehabilitation and other necessary relief instructions.
On his instructions, heavy machinery reached the spot while the relief work was tripled through three different contractors who worked on an emergency basis and opened the affected section of Bahrain Road for light traffic till Sunday afternoon while the highway will be opened for heavy vehicular traffic very soon.
Similarly, due to the timely measures, not only the shopkeepers and business community of Bahrain Bazaar were saved from major losses, but the adjacent Daral Khwar powerhouse was also saved from destruction again.
On the request of the provincial minister, the federal minister also directed the FWO to remove all encroachments on both sides of the Swat River and the highway from Kalam to Madyan so that the flood water cannot reach Bahrain Bazaar and other towns located on the banks of the Swat River.
In the meantime, KP communication minister Muhammad Ali Shah was also kept in constant contact and he was apprised of the ongoing operation.
On the instructions of the federal minister, the FWO was tasked to continuously monitor that the water does not reach the markets and houses. Hence to the timely actions of the provincial and federal ministers, the Bahrain Bazaar was meagerly affected this time and the Kalam highway was also restored for traffic, while the Daral Khwar powerhouse was also completely protected from flood damages.