The Secretariat of Prime Minister has honored three shepherds of Gilgit-Baltistan who had rescued 300 people with their courageous and life saving stunts during recent floods at Roshan-Talidas, sources confirmed on Sunday. The shepherds Ansar Anjum, Wasiat Khan, and Muhammad Jan managed to send a limited SCOM network, warning communities and officials and making urgently necessary evacuations of people, prior to the flooding. Earlier the GB Chief Minister had declared provincial level recognition of their heroism.
In Talidas the Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority teams have employed standard operating procedures on safely releasing water in a newly formed lake. The National Highway Authority (NHA) has erected heavy machineries to restore road access in 48 hours. On the directives of the Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan Army had established a medical camp in Roshan and Talidas treating more than 600 people and distributing rations and tents to displaced families.
People are insistent on long-term rehabilitation, which remains in high demand with safer campuses and restored connectivity. Water levels in the Roshan nala went down by 40 ft and this is helping alleviate the situation on the spot though monitoring is still going on.
Read more: Gilgit-Baltistan Flood Rehabilitation Efforts Gain Momentum
The Gilgit-Baltistan Advocacy Forum (GBAF) expressed concern over the massive destruction due to floods, landslides and glacier lake outburst floods (GLOF). At least 35 people lost their lives, seven are still missing and close to 1,000 homes have been affected, 318 of them totally, and 626 partially, in Diamer. The forum encouraged the leaders to make climate-resilient recovery a priority, enhance early warning mechanisms, and gender-sensitive strategies in the allotment of aid.
Again, the PM Secretariat has been proud of the nationwide recognition of the Bravery of the heroic Gilgit-Baltistan shepherds who managed to save 300 lives by their inner strength, showing the significance of advance warnings in disaster-management.
