Infrastructure is the main consideration for the development of a country. Developed countries have good infrastructure that facilitates the transport of goods from one place to another place within the country. The road is the backbone for a place to be developed; tourists also tend to prefer travelling to places which have good infrastructure to provide access to scenic beauty.
In Pakistan, our government only talks about the promotion of the tourism industry but doesn't do any practical work for the promotion of it. The government doesn't provide any facilities to tourists. Before traveling to a place, most tourists ask about the roads. If they find the roads are good to travel, then they move towards that place. Tourism helps in the development of places and improves the economic conditions of people.
Chitral is one of the backward districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Its people are already facing the problem of climate change. Floods have by now wrecked the infrastructure of many locations.
Last year, the National Highway Authority (NHA) had started to work on the widening and paving of the Chitral-Shandur route. In this regard, the NHA had made a contract with a private construction company for the widening and paving of the Chitral-Shandur road. This company started work on widening, their machines were seen working everywhere along the road. It was said that by April 2023, the task would be done.
Every Chitrali was hoping to travel on a newly widened and paved road to Shandur. That is why they were bearing the hardships and difficulties due to ongoing construction work. But the work could not be completed. Instead, the private construction company removed the existing asphalt-paved road – which was not as good a road as it should be, but it was better than not having a paved road.
When the road was paved with asphalt; it took two hours to reach the town of Chitral from Booni, but after the removal of the asphalt paved road; it took four hours for the same journey. If a patient has a medical emergency and has to be shifted from Booni to DHQ Hospital Chitral within three hours for their life, can this be done? No, because the construction company had removed the paved road.
And so it is that the Chitral-Shandur road has been converted into ruins by the joint efforts NHA and a private construction company. Taxi drivers plying the route were already having trouble making ends meet because of inflation. Now, various parts of their cars are getting damaged while driving on that road. They spend hard-earned money on repairing their cars every day. Who can support their families financially? The construction company or the NHA?
You find little ditches everywhere on the road, instead of paved roads. When winter comes, rainwater will be stored in these little ditches and get frozen. Then this road would be a truly dangerous place to travel. Cars will slip, and the lives of people will be endangered.
The NHA should focus on the issue and resume work again on Chitral Shandur Road: that is the demand of the people of Chitral. Otherwise, one would have to conclude that the NHA believes the old quote that roads are made for the journey itself, not the destination!
In Pakistan, our government only talks about the promotion of the tourism industry but doesn't do any practical work for the promotion of it. The government doesn't provide any facilities to tourists. Before traveling to a place, most tourists ask about the roads. If they find the roads are good to travel, then they move towards that place. Tourism helps in the development of places and improves the economic conditions of people.
Chitral is one of the backward districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Its people are already facing the problem of climate change. Floods have by now wrecked the infrastructure of many locations.
Last year, the National Highway Authority (NHA) had started to work on the widening and paving of the Chitral-Shandur route. In this regard, the NHA had made a contract with a private construction company for the widening and paving of the Chitral-Shandur road. This company started work on widening, their machines were seen working everywhere along the road. It was said that by April 2023, the task would be done.
Every Chitrali was hoping to travel on a newly widened and paved road to Shandur. That is why they were bearing the hardships and difficulties due to ongoing construction work. But the work could not be completed. Instead, the private construction company removed the existing asphalt-paved road – which was not as good a road as it should be, but it was better than not having a paved road.
When the road was paved with asphalt; it took two hours to reach the town of Chitral from Booni, but after the removal of the asphalt paved road; it took four hours for the same journey. If a patient has a medical emergency and has to be shifted from Booni to DHQ Hospital Chitral within three hours for their life, can this be done? No, because the construction company had removed the paved road.
And so it is that the Chitral-Shandur road has been converted into ruins by the joint efforts NHA and a private construction company. Taxi drivers plying the route were already having trouble making ends meet because of inflation. Now, various parts of their cars are getting damaged while driving on that road. They spend hard-earned money on repairing their cars every day. Who can support their families financially? The construction company or the NHA?
You find little ditches everywhere on the road, instead of paved roads. When winter comes, rainwater will be stored in these little ditches and get frozen. Then this road would be a truly dangerous place to travel. Cars will slip, and the lives of people will be endangered.
The NHA should focus on the issue and resume work again on Chitral Shandur Road: that is the demand of the people of Chitral. Otherwise, one would have to conclude that the NHA believes the old quote that roads are made for the journey itself, not the destination!