MINGORA: The tourists and local residents have demanded of the authorities to reconstruct Malam Jabba road, which has been in dilapidated condition owing to a tussle between the federal and provincial governments.

They showed concerns over the behaviour of political leaders and said that both PTI and PML-N were busy in point scoring instead of serving people. They said that Malam Jabba was a ski resort and one of the most visited tourists spot in the country but its road was in dilapidated condition.

The local people said that work on expansion of the 35-kilometre road from Manglor to Malam Jabba was started two years ago but the contractor stopped it after cutting the rocks. They said that debris and cut rocks were left on the road that multiplied problems of commuters.

Shah Ristan, a district coucillor from the area, said that the road was built by former ruler of Swat and after that no government bothered to repair it.

Locals say work on road stopped owing to tussle between KP, Centre

The local residents said that they were caught between a rock and a hard place owing to the tussle between the political parties.

Sakhawat Gul, a resident of Malam Jabba, said that they faced great hardships owing to the dilapidated condition of road. “Critical patients often expire on the road before they are shifted to hospitals in Saidu,” he added.

Transporters and motorists also said that they took their vehicles to workshops every second day owing to the bad condition of road.

Khalil Ahmad, the driver of a passenger van, said that he was compelled to visit a workshop after each trip to Malam Jabba.

“It takes about three hours to cover the 35-kilometre distance from Manglor to Malam Jabba,” he added.

The tourists said that bad condition of the road leading to such a scenic area showed the poor performance of the government.

“We don’t know why government makes hollow claims about promoting tourism. I thought that there would be a road of international standard to Malam Jabba but it is worse than a dirt track,” said Fazal Maula, a tourist from Peshawar.

The local people said that they didn’t know as to why work was stopped on the road. “The PTI leaders blame PML-N’s Amir Muqam for stopping the work to defame provincial government while the PML-N leader says that provincial government has failed to initiate any mega project in Swat.

He has asked the provincial government to hand over the road to NHA so that the federal government can reconstruct it,” they added.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2017