A small glacier melted into Barsuwat Nullah on Thursday in the Ishkoman valley of Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, creating an artificial lake in the valley.
As a result, a village in the area was turned into a lake after the flow of the Immit River was blocked due to the melted glacier. Dozens of houses and families were affected. Hundreds of kanals of cultivated land were submerged and crops damaged.
Furthermore, many local residents are trapped in different areas. Besides, due to continued landsliding, the land routes connecting to upper parts of Immit have been blocked.
Moreover, Local residents have complained that authorities have not provided support.
The Barsuwat area lies at a distance of 60 km from Gahkuch, the district headquarters of Ghizer district. The Ishkoman valley is situated near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
Due to the continuous heatwaves in the country, there is a rise in the melting of the glaciers. The snow falling in February to March cannot convert into glaciers and when heat rises in summer, the snow starts melting, resulting in floods and avalanches.
Earlier, in January 2010, at least 20 people died in a landslide that blocked the Hunza River, creating the Attabad lake that gradually expanded 23 kilometres upstream, submerging four villages – Ainabad, Shishkat, Gulmit and Gulkin. The landslide had also blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH), a vital trade link to China, cutting off 26,000 people in Upper Hunza Valley, also known as Gojal Valley.
