December 24, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 19, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Dec 23: Popular holiday resorts in the Swat valley like Kalaam, Malam Jabba, Mianadam and Madian, are in dire need of development. The dingy hotels, encroachments on both sides of the Swat river and along the roads are polluting the river. The roads leading to these hill stations are bumpy and full of potholes at most of the places.

It is said that in S in Swat stands for snow, W for water, A for air, and T for trees. But one single visit to this beautiful valley astounds the tourists to see that the land of snow, water, air and trees is no longer what it used to be.

In Swat, the snowfalls have reduced due to global warming, water is polluted due to constructions along the banks of the river.

The narrow bumpy track that leads to Kalaam makes the journey miserable and too many dingy hotels on the riverside distort the natural beauty of Swat.

The District Nazim Swat is said to have stated sometime ago that the district government was taking measures for the promotion of tourism in the area. However, no details were given that how the district Nazim would achieve the goal.

Today, environment in Swat is not what it used to be, specially in the congested areas, the trees have all but disappeared. People have planted cabbages and tomatoes near the kutcha track.

No doubt, Swat has a vast tourist potential but for the tourists to appreciate this beauty, they need a safe road to reach the place conveniently. Roads network played an important role in the development of other tourist destinations like Murree, Hazara, Kaghan, Naran and Galliyaat. Here too, the government needs to pay attention to construction of roads.

The one advantage that Swat has over Galliyaat is the river, which is fast becoming a sewerage outlet. With haphazard and unplanned construction along its banks, the river is hardly visible nowadays.

During the days of the defunct deputy commissioners a few of them effectively put a stop to mushroom growths along the river banks.