Swat has attracted a lot of attention, funding and funding thanks to Mehmood Khan, the acting KP Minister, from the Mata area. Swat Motorway is off the M-1 (Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway) at the Cross Karnal Sher Khan Interchange between Swabi and Mardan. This two-lane road leads to Chaddar… the junction of Swat, Dir and Chitral, via the lanes now connecting Mardan and Malakand Divisions.
The main arteries connecting key human facilities are fitted with high quality meter, with the exception of certain constructions such as small steel bridges that need to be replaced with appropriate RCC bridges. Apart from highways, you need solid four-wheel drive in front of the Kalam.
New roads include main road connecting areas such as Shamozai, Kanju, Kabal, Matta, Drush Khela and Madyan on the right bank (North) of the Swat River. The old road runs along the left bank (South) linking Chaddar to Mingora, Khwaza Khela and Madyan. Both of these roads are connected by numerous bridges to key public areas. With the exception of Madyan, one high-level road reaches Bahrain and Kalam.
The effect of the turmoil on the sleeping mountain towns is spectacular. There is no open space that allows guests to view the remaining beauty. Cities without access routes disrupt traffic at alarming rates. The smallest pass is not marked and is always hidden. One heard the shocking news 45 kilometers across Madyan to Kalam, covered 24-36 hours (fortunately) by tourists… with dozens of luxury cars during the 'season'. The situation is reported to be worse during festivals such as Eids and Independence Day etc.
The modern Swat stands by over-selling by locals and outsiders transforming every possible place into a restaurant, hotel and / or other place of interest for tourist influx… especially young single men in groups. There were anecdotes circling around families with women trapped in traffic jams for hours with no basic necessities nearby. The area does not have the capacity to absorb the type of traffic tolerated by human-frustrated corona.
‘While’, hotels are booked for volume; tent villages sprout and settle, and visitors overflow to open spaces in the woods or under the open sky. The natural and ecological consequences of this flood are astonishing. In the remotest parts of the Swat River, across from its source in Maho Dhand, plastic waste was everywhere. Nothing escapes our destructive footsteps. Cultivation of trout, overfishing is common, and eating trout is a sacred tradition.
When it comes to basic health needs, the K-P government needs a balance. The data connection of mobile companies is flawed and weak. This discourages the use of credit / bank cards by almost all merchants. Most transactions are cash, which may be tax evasion and other risks. A big city like Kalam still has no bank (one still under construction) and an ATM.
Most of the construction is in the middle of the nullahs in the season, and whenever these water courses return their way, roads are closed, buildings are flooded and road vehicles pile up, as has happened near Kalam recently.
The forest cover is rapidly disappearing. Mountains and slopes that one remembers with jungle are now empty and abandoned. Illegal logging continues unchecked or unknown to the Department of Forestry as local evidence. The ancient controversy over the local people who cut down firewood is not new, as the ripe pine tree provides more fuel for the family. Deforestation is profitable, clean and easy and occurs mainly in combination under darkness. The Mainstream Swat seems to be losing its charm to smart travelers and attracts only those who are interested in tying the knot in a series of life trips.
The K-P government - under its fast-paced tourism industry - has provided state-of-the-art ‘Camping Pods’ to some of the newly deployed tourist destinations with the right standards of cleanliness, purchasing power and serenity. Once again, the area around these pods is beginning to fill up with dangerous construction, lowering the very atmosphere of the camp. Maho Dhand, thirty years ago or so, has been a popular refugee camp… is no more. It's crowded, bad shacks are sprinkled ... and ghetto is being made. The grueling three-hour journey from Kalam ends in a heartbreaking experience.
One was inspired by the positive view, the local people had of the Armed Forces and the Police, given the successful task of removing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat (TTS) troops from their areas; to bring peace, order and prosperity. The worst affected areas were on the main road north of the River Swat, entering Lower Dir in the north. Locals say this growth of their business and prosperity is due to the Army and its contribution to the local economy, education, peace and security ... which continues.
In order for Swat to remain a magnet for tourism, especially high-end, high-value tourism, it is very important to limit the entry into the densely populated Malakand Sector. Purposeful research is needed to determine how long it takes for visitors to arrive at the right time, so that the environment can be healed, protected from the elements and the local people not disturbed by invading armies. Tourism Police do not appear as a single notice in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Calling for voting at various entrances will cost a lot of money that could be spent on things like waste management, road repairs and tourist convenience. A certain level of construction control and brutal coercion through public participation is essential to prevent the coming catastrophe.
There is something Malakand / Swat has to offer all over the world. Pre-Buddhist stupas, monasteries and universities; green valleys between Upper Dir and Lower Swat; its fruits
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