SWAT: Kalam, paradise on earth as many say, is the home of more than 100,000 people. Tourism and farming are the main source of income for the local people in this region.
Potato, turnip and peas are the major agricultural products of Kalam and are sold in vegetable markets across the country.
The recent floods, however, not only paralyzed the tourism industry of the area but also snatched their second source of income by washing away thousands of agricultural lands.
Moreover, the miseries of the people of Kalam have multiplied because of the absence of roads and bridges.
The only option left to them was to migrate. Residents of Kalam have started migration on a large scale towards lower Swat to save themselves from the severe winter which has already engulfed the whole valley with its cold arms.
Malak Ghazan Khan, chief of the Qomi Jirga and one of the migrants, told The Express Tribune, “In the past roads would be blocked for one or two weeks due to the heavy snowfall. The roads would be cleared with the help of machines so staying in Kalam was not a problem.”
“We would not be able
to survive the cold this year, the floods destroyed our homes and left us helpless,” Ghazan said.
“We have constructed a road ourselves to cross through
the winding mountains along the Swat river but this road is very dangerous,” Safiullah Khan said.
According to Saifullah, the numbers of casualties on that road are high as it is slippery and vehicles tend to slip if the road is wet.
Though the migration from Kalam is continuing, these migrants have to face several problems in lower Swat too.
Whaidullah, a resident of Lai Kot, Kalam told The Express Tribune, “My whole family has migrated, some stay in Peshawar some in Mingora but our problems don’t end here. The rent of a house in normal days was about Rs. 2,000 but the rent of the same house is now more than Rs. 5,000, how can we afford this when some people don’t even have money to get food.”
Talking about the road to Kalam, Whaidullah said the main problem was that it was in bad condition.
“Every second day vehicles slip into the river killing people, we have requested the government to reconstruct our road on an emergency basis so travelling is made easier for us,” Whaidullah said.
Ziaullah, a student in Kalam and another migrant told The Express Tribune that even though NGO’s were helping them buy providing them with food and non-food items, they were not sufficient.
“We do not need such things because it will not solve our main issue; we need a functional road so that we can travel easily. We want to go back home,” he said.
Shamsur Rahman Shams, another one of the migrants, said, “We are disappointed with the provincial and federal government that after such a disaster they could not restore the road which is considered a ‘back bone’ to our society.”
Blaming the provincial government regarding the distribution of the Watan Cards he said, “Awami National Party has supported undeserving people by issuing Watan Cards to them while all the deserving people are deprived of the cards.”
When Human Resources and Development Officer Swat, Naeem Akhtar was contacted in this regard, he said, “We are collecting information about these migrants and making lists while some of NGO’s are working for their support as well.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2010.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ