MANSEHRA: The Lower Kohistan administration on Wednesday said it evacuated eight serious patients from flood-hit areas by helicopter.

It also reported the airdropping of 7,000kg dried food in Dubair and Ranowali areas, which faced a food crisis.

“We [district administration] have rescued eight patients, who desperately needed health services, including dialysis, since the flash floods cut off upper parts of Dubair valley and Ranowalia area from the other parts of district,” deputy commissioner Shakeel Ahmad told reporters.

He said the monsoon calamity wreaked havoc in Dubair and Ranowali areas, so the district administration with the help and support of the government was carrying out rescue and relief operations.

Mr Ahmad said a helicopter provided by the government was used to evacuate serious patients and drop food in inaccessible areas.

He said food packets carrying wheat flour, rice, tea and yarns were dropped in four points of Ranowalia, five in upper parts of Dubair valley and four in Khayal area.

The deputy commissioner said the serious patients, including women and children, were taken first to district headquarters Pattan and then to different health facilities.

He said the government had already paid compensation to the families, which lost members to the disaster, while a survey was under way and other formalities were being fulfilled to pay residents for destroyed and damaged houses.

Meanwhile, the Mansehra Dispute Resolution Council has settled over 1,700 cases of harassment, violence and marriage dissolution out of court in the district.

DRC member Mazhar Hussain Shah told reporters here on Wednesday that the council was formed in 2014 to do away with jirga system for the out-of-court resolution of the people’s issues.

He said the DRC had received 45,000 complaints since its formation and resolved 1,700 of them.

“Women can approach us [DRC] for justice without hiring a legal counsel,” he said.

Also in the day, Hazara University Vice-Chancellor Dr Jamil Ahmad on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of a residential colony for staff members.

Under the plans, six residential blocks will be built at the cost of Rs220 million to address the employees’ accommodation issue.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2022