A Practically Disowned Area

In the last week of December 2006; I had a chance to visit Yarkhun Valley . Visiting this valley in winter is in no way less than an expedition. Riding a Wills Jeep, standing all the way long, which brutally turns you from side to side in freezing temperature, makes the journey so much memorable that one rarely dares repeat. The meandering routes have already availed too much life sacrifices from the victims like the ones we witnessed on 23rd December, 2006 evening in Row Rome
(newly populated area opposite to Awi) when a woman breathed her last on the spot and two others succumbed to death at the hospital.

While writing this brief passage, I am myself-confused where to start and where to finish. Fortification of problems faced by whole Chitral in general and Yarkhun Valley in particular is obviously a huge time demanding and in no way an unmentioned fact so far. I would, however, try to arrest the passage from going elsewhere but road problems of the
valley.

A person who visited Yarkhun Valley some five years back will find it shocking that how much the roads have deteriorated. It is even more disappointing seeing the projects that have been discontinued ( Parwak Road ). President General Pervaiz Musharaf during his two consecutive official visits to Shandur made announcements to construct an RCC Bridge at Mastuj over the river Yarkhun but that is still a dream. The designed period for a suspension bridge cannot be expected beyond five years but the bridge over River Laspur is there long before we remember. The minimal repair seems negligible. Obviously we are willingly waiting for its fortune like the one we witnessed with suspension bridge over Yarkhun River at Brep. The latter served us more than its capabilities. So the former is bound to follow the worse.

Right now no any arrangement has been made public as to what can exactly be done to ensure Yarkhun valley connectivity. Temporary arrangement has been done for grain supply but this can hardly last till the end of March. The debris of the collapsed bridge is still untouched.

The people of the valley have lots of expectation from the Local Government regarding the restoration of the bridge. The project cost can exceed Rs.10 million as no any old materials can be reused. Moreover the existing site of the bridge has become permanently vulnerable to river erosion. Hence construction of a new bridge on a safer site with extended span can incur a cost that is beyond the absorption capacity of the Local Government. In this scenario can we expect some funds from the Province or even from the Centre? If so, will it add another dream of Mastuj's fortune book like the RCC Bridge near Mastuj? How much gravity our local representatives can infuse to problem while presenting to at provincial or federal level, is yet to been seen.

Sulaiman Baig
Village and P.O. Kargin
Tehsil Mastuj
Distt: Chitral
Email: [email protected]
Mobile : 0333-7790864