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Six houses destroyed by sliding of hillock

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: The sliding hillock in the Newazantek of Booni destroyed six houses in the Nerwazantek Booni village, some 75 kms from here on the north, the residents of Booni told this chitraltimes.com by telephone here on Thursday. The dwellers of the houses had already evacuated the houses when boulders of huge masses started from the hillock below which the village is situated, they said and added that they were shifted to the nearby area of Junali Kotch area. The displaced persons have been lodged in tented houses, they said but the government has yet to provide them with sufficient quantity of the commodities of daily life. They said that big masses of boulders falling from the hillock have also destroyed the wheat crop and fruit gardens of apple standing on hundreds of acres of land. They said that the area is famous for the product of apples on commercial scale and the destruction of the gardens has caused a great economic shock to the residents of the village. FOCUS, a humanitarian assistance organization and a subsidiary of Aga Khan Development Network has rushed to the aid of the affected people of the village and removed them to the safe place and provided tents to provide accommodation. They said that in the chilly weather of Booni, the displaced persons in tented houses are finding themselves in great discomfort.