CHITRAL: In the consultative meeting of Kalash Valleys Development Authority (KVDA) held in a local hotel here on Friday, the residents emphasised the importance of preserving and retaining the essence of the ancient Kalash culture by avoiding the commercialisation, which, they said, was causing disruptive influence.

The elders of the valley said that these festivals should be kept simple as in the past for centuries to preserve their attraction and interest from outside world, noting that the festivals attracted multitude of tourists, some often behave unruly.

The meeting emphasised the need to prepare a tourism management plan that spelled fundamental rules for tourism in the Kalash valleys to promote tourism under a systematic plan, and unorganised tourism could be stopped, which is causing dissatisfaction among the people of the valleys.

They emphasised that the outsiders should be educated about the local culture before allowing them entry into the valley as most of the time they created embarrassing situation for the locals by disturbing their privacy within the very boundaries of their homes.

Deliberations were also made on devising methods and rules for distribution and disbursement of scholarships for students from the valley as in this regard the KVDA has earmarked a huge amount of money on yearly basis.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2025