SWAT: Residents of Kalam Valley on Monday started repairs to the dilapidated Kalam Road on a self-help basis.

They said they got so frustrated by the government’s failure to repair the key artery in the last three years that they decided to repair the road by themselves to ease their as well as tourists’ difficulties in the region.

Community elders and the Hotel Association began the work, demanding that the government immediately commence the construction of the Kalam Road to promote tourism and alleviate the hardships faced by locals.

Hotel Association president Abdul Wadud, former tehsil nazim Habibullah Saqib, ANP leader Dr Shah Khan, PTI activist Asif Shahzad and elders Nasrullah Saqib and Syed Nabi told reporters that their repeated requests to authorities for road repairs fell on deaf ears and therefore, they decided to carry out the work on their own.

“When we lost hope in the government, we decided to take matters into our own hands,” an elder said.

He said the move was meant to ease people’s misery and protect the tourism sector from further damage.

The residents acknowledged the limited resources available for road repairs but said they were committed to completing the work “as much as possible.”

They also highlighted the potential for increased difficulties in the event of floods or other natural calamities. They urged the government to start construction immediately to prevent further travel issues for residents and tourists.

The residents said the Kalam Road had been in bad shape for the last three years, causing serious problems for them and visitors.

They noted that many visitors returned due to the dilapidated road badly hitting the tourism sector, which provided employment opportunities to locals.

The residents warned that if the construction of Kalam Road didn’t start immediately, the local tourism sector would suffer badly.

They regretted issues between the federal and provincial governments and demanded of them to take immediate action on the Kalam Road and protect tourism from the “total collapse.”

The residents warned that if that work didn’t begin soon, they would extend their protests to the entire Malakand Division until the demand was met.

They said they would go to any extent to “achieve this goal.”

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2024