All work, some play: It’s not always sunny in Wana

Though locals face hardships, they also enjoy winter in mountainous areas

DI KHAN: As winter is sweeping across the region, residents of Wana in South Waziristan Agency are facing hardships dealing with heavy snowfall. However, on the other hand, they know the best ways to enjoy the cold.

“I go to Birmal in the agency with my friends in a Benjo car to enjoy the snowfall and have a picnic with traditional food. We return to Wana by night,” Rashid Khan, a resident of Wana, told The Express Tribune.

“We also get to visit the shrine of Musa Nika in Angoor Adda, which is situated on the border of the agency.”

Since the Wana-Angoor Adda road, around 53 kilometres long, has recently been constructed, the commute has become easy for locals, especially the youth who head to the mountains for a picnic every now and then.

Tedious days

However, there are reasons for locals to fear the cold as they have to go the extra mile, both literally and figuratively, to get their winter days going. First of all, they have to rely on fire pits, locally known as bukharai, to keep them warm.  The bukharai is a manual heater in which firewood has to be burnt to keep rooms warm. This has to be done especially in the mountains. The fire pit has become compulsory for locals as liquefied natural gas in cylinders is expensive.

Locals also make do with pieces of coal to put in the bukharai. The coal pieces are also smuggled on both sides of the Durand Line, affecting forests.

However, those who live at higher altitudes have to gather firewood ahead of winter as routes get blocked in the snowfall.

In such days, the cutting of trees increases considerably. Wood is carried on camelback from mountains to roadsides. From there, the staple is carried in trucks or pickups to Wana’s wood mandi located on the southern side of Wana Bazaar.

“The quantity of firewood that fits in a pickup costs between RS10,000 and Rs15,000 while that in a truck costs between Rs50,000 and Rs70,000,” said Abdullah Khan who sells firewood in the wood mandi. “The demand of firewood increases [in winters] and people from different areas come to buy it.”

Winter woes

Noor Ali, a journalist, said locals are also seen thronging Wana Bazaar to buy warm clothes. “However, in most of the areas, like Kari Kot, Azam Warsak, Spin, Shakai and Birmal the cold weather also brings about the seasonal flu.”

It is not just the snowfall that is troublesome for residents. In the warmer days when the snow melts, there is fear of property and crop damage due to floods.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2015.