Natural beauty of Swat destroyed by government’s negligence

By: Usman Torwali

The natural beauty of Swat attracts millions of tourists annually making it one of the most frequently visited and popular tourist destinations in Pakistan. This year only on Eid-ul-Fitar occasion over 200000 tourists entered the Swat valley. Most of the visitors explore upper Swat for its gushing rivers, serene weather, lakes and the snow-caped mountains that welcome the new entrants into the valley. However, the influx of tourists is often mismanaged by the local administration, leaving horrific scars on the tourists’ journey. The provincial government and local administration have failed in providing safe tourist allures as routinely dreadful incidents take place. Ranging from riverbank precautious boards, infrastructure, preliminary sirens, construction of hotels and tourist points at riverbanks to unauthorized boating in the lakes and rivers have endangered, and most of the time, taken many precious lives in the last few years signaling an alarming situation in the newly developed tourist industry. The troll of such tragedies can solely be attributed to the provincial government and local administration’s negligence and cold handedness of such bustling tourist areas.

On 22 June a boat in Shahi Bagh valley, Kalam, drowned five lives. The footages show the boat engine failed leaving women and children stranded in the lake. The loaded boat floated unrestrained for a while and then collided with a bridge causing it to overturn. The incident shows how unchecked and mismanaged local skippers do this business — the most vulnerable boating to such incidents. Many other similar incidents of capsizing boats and drowning of tourists have been reported in Mahodand, Kalam, in the last few years. Other mismanagements and negligence of the provincial government as well as local administration include lift and flank bridges incidents in the locality taking several lives annually. The most affected faction in such incidents is women and school children.

On Friday another tragic incident took fifteen lives in Fizagat, Mingora. Eighteen family members from Sialkot stranded in the dry-mid of the river Swat and waited for two hours in hope of help as the flood unleashed its devastation. The tourist family saw its death advancing as the flood water embarked on devouring the dry area.  However, no rescue team appeared on the scene giving the flood water enough time to mercilessly sweep them away. Later only three of the tourists were found alive in eighteen members, including women and children. Had there been a helicopter or other rescue machinery this family would have been saved but the KP government is only interested in marching to Islamabad and speaks the emancipation of its incarcerated leader alone.

The tragic incident shocked the world but in such gloomy times the CM of the province, Mr. Gandapur, appears on TV before Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and says he can’t go Swat and doll out camps to tourists, such remarks reflect his indifference at the face of such heartbreaking loss.

Is there any service delivery or social security? Surprisingly, could there be any policy formation and implementation when its CM stays missing for days after battling the federal police in Islamabad or elsewhere? How the province is even managed? Following the incident, many questions stormed social media, the outrageous populace asked for the CM’s resignation, however, the nation has been lured in past by promises and announcements of strict actions against the responsible officials and concerned personnel but to no avail. Many of the culprits of mob lynching in Madyan, Swat, reportedly have been released unscathed!

In Swat, disorganized tourists’ influx often results in numerous inconveniences for the locals. Traffic is jammed for hours, ambulances struck, and the locals’ mobility compromised. In upper Swat many routes remain destructed and portray the same ruins of devastation back in 2010 and 2022 floods at multiple places as no reconstruction work has so far been done. Several bridges await of rebuilding in Bahrain, Ramait, Cham Gharai, Pushmal and other places for almost fourteen years. These blocks take hours in rush days rendering exhausting complexities for the visitors. Successive voices for the reconstruction of Swat infrastructure have surged from the locals and journalists but fall on deaf ears as the provincial government shows no interest in the development of infrastructure.

Irresponsible tourism has also turned many tourist points into dumping ground. Tap Ban, a recently discovered scenic meadow, has recently been inundated with irresponsible visitors who lit fire to the tall wavering alpine trees, throw plastic bags and other disposable stuff; their midnight gunfire, drone footage of the locals’ houses and bringing cars and bikes to the lush attraction have turned its natural beauty upside down. The local administration didn’t bother to stop the excessive influx of tourists nor provided any precautions for the disruption of its natural environment.

Given the changing weather patterns and unpredictive flash floods the government must guide tourists with warning sign boards at dangerous places, halt the construction of illegal tourist buildings at riverbanks, and arrange emergency rescue machinery in climate vulnerable places for the safety of visitors. For locals, tourist industry is one of the main sources of livelihood in the northern Pakistan and contributes a large sum to the national treasury in the form of direct and indirect taxes. Instead of spoiling it with officials’ irresponsibility the concerned authorities must boast it as it entails development for the locals and play part in the economic growth.

Also read: Top fruit varieties grown in Swat and Gilgit: A regional yield guide