By KASONDE  KASONDE –
THE Zambia Flying Doctor Service (ZFDS) has suspended operations in Luano Valley because of the poor state of the airstrip.
Luano District Commissioner Luke Mwamba said people in the district had stopped accessing medical services from the flying doctors due to the airstrip being overgrown with grass.
Mr Mwamba said the people in the valley who mainly depended on the ZFDS for medical services had been greatly affected.
He said the situation was further compounded by floods following heavy downpours that had left Luano cut off from the rest of the district.
“The valley has been flooded for over two weeks now which has led to a number of operations in the valley to be suspended, hence Chingombe Airstrip has not been worked on,” Mr Mwamba said.
He said people in Senior Chief Mboroma, Chief Chembe and Chief Mbosha’s areas were beneficiaries of the flying doctors service.
Mr Mwamba, however, said the airstrip would soon be worked on as the district had received 100 tonnes of relief maize through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit which would be distributed as food-for-work.
He said 80 per cent of the relief maize would be given out as food-for-work that would see people work on the airstrip to ensure that the doctors resume their operations.
Mr Mwamba said the other 20 per cent of the maize would be given to senior citizens and disabled free of charge.
The residents of Luano had been recovering from many years of being terrorised by the Mailoni brothers who were gunned down by security forces.
Many people vacated the valley for fear of being attacked and were now returning to the area to resettle.