Severe snowfall, rain increases woes for locals in Gilgit Baltistan

HOPAR (Gilgit Baltistan): Several areas like Hopar inGilgit Baltistannow face severe snowfall causing hindrances in day-to-day activities in the life of locals, making daily tasks too difficult. The ongoing snowfall has also resulted in landslides causing problems for the movement of traffic. A resident of Hopar said,

"We have been facing severe heavy snowfall for some time now. And around 12000 people of Hopar now are facing major problems, living at around 8000 feet from the sea level. This place has only one Public Health Center (PHC) and it is almost impossible. I had gone to the PHC but there was no doctor available. Similarly, the availability of good quality medicine is also very rare in the area. I request the government to take care of these roads, as these are the only way to access this place and their condition is bad currently. And we are in desperate need of a good doctor 24x7".

Highlighting the road conditions getting worse because of snowfall, he added, "These roads have now become a danger zone, god forbid nothing serious has happened on these roads as of yet. However, we have seen small accidents here once or twice.

Another place in Gilgit Baltistan, according to the local sources has been facing severe rainfall for the past week, a local from the area stated that "the rainfall that we face has not stopped from yesterday, and even the local meteorological department has said that these situations will continue for about 24 hours. The daily life of our village is now in shambles".

"We had a talk with Pakistani authorities but as of now, areas near Karakoram and Diamer are facing difficulties. Even major sections of roads between Skardu-Gilgit, Giadar-Gilgit, Nagar and Hunza are blocked. The communication links to these areas have also stopped, but the rainfall has still not stopped. And the people have been advised to remain inside," he added.

This is not the first time that the people of Gilgit Baltistan have faced this problem. These critical situations in this area are repeated every year as the people have to face severe water shortages in these areas. Every time the temperature drops in Gilgit Baltistan the water in the taps and pipelines freezes. Leaving people to depend upon half-frozen seasonal tributaries for getting water. These tributaries during the winters are the only source of water for their animals and family.

A local woman mentioned that "whenever the tap water freezes in December to April then we become dependent on these small rivers. This is very difficult for us, we carry around 7 to 8 gallons of water in a day on our backs from villages like Chipurson and Ispenj. This is the only way of survival for us, our animals, our daily chores and our kids".