Holiday time hindered: Khanpur Dam has little to offer tourists

Funds were allocated to create park on banks but no progress has been made

HARIPUR: Insufficient facilities at Khanpur Dam have caused difficulties for tourists who visit during the weekend or every time there is a public holiday.

Built in the early 1980s, the 42-kilometre-long Khanpur reservoir serves as the main source of water supply to the domestic and industrial beneficiaries of the twin cities, Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Taxila, and other parts of K-P and Punjab.

Apart from this the blue-green water of the rain-fed dam also attracts scores of tourists from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Taxila, Wah Cantonment and parts of Hazara Division.

Frequent influx

“Every Friday, between 40,000 and 50,000 tourists come to [the banks of] Khanpur Dam,” Naeem, a kiosk owner near the dam, told The Express Tribune, “Most of them are businessperson who take off from work on Friday – this crowd is joined by the employees of private and public sector organisations on weekends, Saturday and Sunday.”

At least 20,000 people visit the area on both days of the weekend, he added. Tourists enjoy bathing, swimming, boating, and taking a stroll on the banks of the lake and canals.

There are several Buddhist archaeological sites at a stone’s throw from Khanpur Dam, that also invite the attention of locals as well as foreign tourists every year. Although there are all the attractions in the area, tourists do not enjoy to the fullest due to the issues at the bank of Khanpur lake due to shortfalls on part of the tourism department.”



Sans facilities

The lake’s bank — from the main entrance of Khanpur Dam to old Khanpur — has no shelter or trees to protect tourists from rain or the sun’s rays. There is also no potable water facility, neither are there any lavatories, making it difficult for tourists to spend quality time.

“Emergency health facilities are missing in the area hence tourists have nowhere to turn to in case of accidents,” Shafqat, a businessman from Khanpur, said, adding in case of drowning incidents the injured are taken to Khanpur Rural Health Centre which is not well-equipped. Moreover, the private boat owners do not make people embarking their boat wear life jackets, most of them do not even have the safety gear.

There is also no action taken against these boat owners who do not only fleece tourists by charging at will, but their boats also pollute the dam. They are not questioned by the district administration as long as they pay the licence fee which is between Rs3,000 and Rs10,000.

The officials concerned said Islamabad City District Administration took notice last year of the impact of boating on the lake and asked Water and Power Development Authority to get the lake cleared of boats, but the private boatmen obtained stay orders from the courts.

Of promises

“It’s the duty of both federal and provincial tourism departments to ensure facilities are provided near Khanpur Dam,” Riffat, a university student from Islamabad, said. “Since this picnic spot is very near to Islamabad it is incumbent for the federal government to develop this place on modern lines as this would help it generating revenue of millions of rupees.”

Naveed, a local businessperson, said the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa tourism department promised the development of Khanpur Dam for the entertainment of tourists a few years back.

The culture and tourism department of K-P used to even arrange a water sports gala at the dam every October till 2013. The gala attracted between 100,000 and 200,000 tourists, but the activity has not taken place even once in the present government’s reign.

Tourism Corporation Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had made a feasibility plan of utilising 600 acres of land of the dam for tourism purposes, providing the facilities of boating, eateries and linking dam area to Islamabad via Makhniyal Township, the bordering village of Haripur, but the plan could not be materialized despite allocation of funds for the road.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2016.