Don't rub salt into people's wounds

By Dj Mathal 

At last better sense seems to be prevailing on the government of Gilgit-Baltistan led by its so-called chief minister Mehdi Shah that they have started realizing that by the end of this month or in the first week of June the artificial lake formed on the Hunza River will break its banks. However, even then the government continues giving assurance to the people that sky will not fall and in case of the break-up of the lake some water will discharge from the lake without bringing any destruction. On the other hand, plans are being made to evacuate the villages living on the banks of the river right from the Hunza valley to Gilgit city fearing that they would be washed away if the lake is broken. Besides, all educational institutions along the riverside villages have been closed and work to store food items continues. This is sheer double speak. Government sources say that the boat service in the lake has to be closed and replaced with a helicopter service as the water level in the lake has reached a dangerous level.

According to reports prepared by national and international experts including Focus Humanitarian, NESPA, and those belonging to Australian and British, till today about 1.2 millions gallons of water has accumulated in the debris lake formed due to landsliding early this year. The lake has now spread to over 18 kilometres. On an average the level of the lake water is increasing by about four to five

feet of water daily and it is only 45 feet below the dead level.

The experts say that with the rise in the temperature, more water will be entering the lake with the melting of glaciers in the mountains. Besides, not only there would be chances of more landsliding in the area but also small explosions beneath the earth in the surrounding cannot be ruled out. In such a situation, there is the chance of a tsunami-like situation that can submerge the whole 120 km valley spreading from Hunza to Gilgit town. In such a situation hundreds of thousands of people including 20,000 in the Gilgit town will be displaced. The catastrophe can also wash away about 20 km portion of the vital Karakoram Highway.

In civilized societies, those at the helms of affairs comprehend such situation and plan to cope with them in advance instead of waiting for a disaster and then crying over it. Besides, mass media also plays its due role of creating awareness of the issue among the people. As such we have been warning the rulers for the last over four months that the artificial lake formed on the HU Hunza river can become a time bomb if proper measures were not taken on time. Though natural calamities cannot be stopped from happening but steps to minimize human and property losses can and should be initiated before hand. We have regularly asking the government to inform the local people about the actual situation and also take steps to protect the lives and properties of the residents not only around the lake but also down the catchment area of the river. However, the government and the political leadership termed our warning a rumour and continued to assure the people that nothing would happen as all was ok.

Experts say that had the lake water drained out regularly through proper machinery and equipment, the situation would not have reached such a gravity. This could have made the flow of the river easy and facilitate in cutting the rocks that are blocking the flow of the river at the site. Our contention will also be supported by a group of Chinese experts and engineers who had offered to remove the rocks. However, the government instead of accepting the Chinese help assigned the job to the inexperienced staff of the Frontier Works Organization who could dig the spillways of about 43 feet in four months. This shows that the rulers have committed blunder, carelessness and irresponsibility in performing its duties in protecting the lives and properties of the people of the region. This was evident when the speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly Mr Wazir Baig very rudely stated in front of the national media that they were not responsible for forming the lake; therefore, they cannot do anything. To rub salt to people's injuries, the dummy chief minister and his cabinet ministers are reported to have enjoyed their hearts at a dancing party held at Ghanche while the nation spend sleepless nights as the lake break crisis knocks at their doors.

The chief minister even does not like to hear news about the issue and has banned publication and relay of any news by the official media. We once again appeal to the government that instead of dancing to the tunes of their masters sitting in Islamabad, they should have a pity on the local people and share their sufferings with them. It is the need of the time that the rulers took urgent steps to cope with the post-lake break-up situation including evacuation and rehabilitation of the affected people and protection of their moveable and immovable properties. The situation is becoming grave day by day and it is the duty of the government and all civil society organizations to come forward and cope with the situation in a scientific manner.