Rockslides, floods block Herat-Ghor highway

CHAGHCHARAN (PAN highway was blocked by a rockslide and flash floods in western Ghor province, officials said on Thursday.

The key route was closed in the Bidan area after a huge rock fell from a mountain on the road, said Hamidullah Dadfar, the provincial natural disaster management authority head.

He said they had launched efforts together with the public works department to reopen the highway. But Muhammad Iqbal, an official at the public works department, was unaware of the rockslide.

He said they had information about the highway blockade in Charsadda district, where a river burst its banks, inundating the road. He lamented his department lacked heavy machinery to reopen the road.

Abdul Qadir, a passenger who came to Chaghcharan from Herat, said the highway remained blocked at several points due to rockslides and floods in Kaminj and Bidan areas of Charsadda.

A large number of vehicles were seen stuck on the highway, he said, adding some passengers, running out of patience, disembarked and started their journey on foot.

Provincial traffic department head, Abdul Ghani, confirmed receiving complaints from drivers about the road closure. He said drivers and passengers were faced with serious problems which could be resolved if the public works department came into action.

mds/ma/mud

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