SWAT: The residents of Utror union council in upper Swat have been facing numerous problems for the past one month after destruction of about one-kilometre road, connecting the area with Kalam and rest of the country, by flash flood.

Utror is a scenic valley having a population of nearly 20,000. The area is known for delicious vegetables. The valley houses dozens of pristine glacial lakes, roaring waterfalls, thick forests and serene pastures. It also provides passes to Upper Dir and Chitral. A large number of tourists visit the area during the summer season.

Due to harsh weather and heavy snowfall, 80 per cent of its residents migrate to down parts of the country in November and then return in May. However, this year they face problems in returning to their homes because the recent flash floods in April washed away about a one-kilometre road, leaving the valley cut off from rest of the country.

“The road in Bahan area of Kalam was completely washed away when the Swat River swelled with flood water. We have to change two vehicles to go home. We take a vehicle from Kalam to Bahan and then embark on another vehicle to go to Utror, Gabral or Gujar Gabral after walking for one kilometre,” said Akbar Hussain, a resident of Utror.

Locals seek reconstruction of road and water channels

The locals said that the disconnection of road created a big issue, particularly for those families, who returned to their homes from different parts of the country. “Every year, we shift to Lahore during winter and return in May. We rented a truck to travel back from Lahore this time, but there was no road when we reached Bahan. We unloaded the truck and carried out luggage about 1 kilometre and rented another truck for Utror,” said Saradar Hussain, another resident of the area.

According to locals, the floods also washed away agricultural lands and irrigation channels. “We cultivate high-quality vegetables and salad, including broccoli, lettuce, parsley, leek, bacon, iceberg lettuce, Chinese cabbage, peas, turnip and potatoes. We sell them in the big cities. However, our farmers will not be able to cultivate vegetables this year as irrigation channels have already been washed away,” said Mohammad Qasim Khan.

He said that there was no electricity in Utror, Gabral and Gujar Gabral because the floods washed away all the micro hydropower stations in the area.

The locals appealed to government to take steps to rebuild the road and irrigation channels so that the migrated families could return easily and farmers could grow vegetables.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2023