SWAT: The recent floods have not only wreaked havoc on the infrastructure in the upper region of Swat but also washed away hundreds of acres of agricultural lands in the valley.

The upper region of Swat, especially Bahrain tehsil, is not only famous for natural beauty but also known for its off-season vegetables. The region including Madyan, Bahrain, Mankiyal, Pishmal, Aryana, Kalam, Utror, Gabral, Ushu, Matiltan and other areas have great potential for vegetable cultivation.

The region produces good quality tomatoes, French beans, cucumbers, peas, cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, radishes, carrots, spinach, coriander, broccoli, bottle gourd and potatoes. It is also famous for high value walnuts, apples and pears.

After the flash floods, farmers in Bahrain tehsil suffered huge losses as most of the crops and fruits like cabbages, potatoes and apples were not only washed away but owing to destruction of roads from Bahrain to Kalam, they could not transport their vegetables to the markets in Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Islamabad and other cities.

Growers say they are unable to transport vegetables and fruits to market

“My potatoes and cabbages are ready but I cannot take them to the lower parts of the country due to destruction of roads. However, I have to pick a little number of cabbages and potatoes and carry them on my shoulder from Aryana area to Bahrain where I sell them and buy food items for my family,” said Hazrat Faqir.

He said that one day he walked all over from Aryana to Bahrain bazaar and returned home after spending a night and buying food items for his family.

Bakth Munir, another farmer of Kalam, said that walking and climbing mountains with a heavy load was not an easy job. “We walk about 30 kilometres with a heavy load on our shoulders. We cannot return home the same day due to tiredness and pain in our feet so we spend a night in Bahrain and then come back,” he said.

He said that a major part of his vegetables would go waste and perish as he could carry only a little quantity.

According to Iftikhar Ahmad, the director of agriculture, Bahrain tehsil was producing thousands of tonnes of vegetables and fruits. “Vegetables are grown on 3,903 hectares of land in Bahrain tehsil where the floods washed away 370 hectares land incurring Rs303 millions of losses on farmers. Orchards cover 1,837 hectares of land where the floods damaged about 12.5 hectares land causing Rs18.52 million losses,” he told Dawn.

He said that the farmers would receive huge losses if the road from Bahrain to Kalam was not restored in time. “The road from Bahrain to Kalam has been washed away at 13 places while seven bridges have also been swept away due to which the ready crops cannot be transported and if the road is not be restored within few days, the crops will perish in the fields,” he added.

The farmers demanded of the government to accelerate work on the restoration of roads so that they could transport the ready crops to market avoid heavy losses.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2022