45-day celebrations: In Swat, the shiniest festival is in Matta

Shopkeepers keep shops open till midnight as economic activity returns.

SWAT:

As Swat continues its 45-day celebrations, the festivities in Matta tehsil take the cake, where the local communities’ joy seems to have no bounds.

Matta tehsil, which was once a stronghold of the Taliban, is hosting a 15-day festival under “The Spirit of Swat”, which aims to streamline tourism in the valley and prove that peace has returned to the region.

“I have no words to describe my joy over this festival. I thought it was impossible to organise such an event here, at least from what people say abroad.

It really feels great to have perfect peace in Swat,” said Bakhtiar, a resident of Matta, who recently came back from Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing festival has increased the sales of local shopkeepers. Nasir, a juice mart owner, told The Express Tribune that his sales had risen sharply, as more and more people were coming to attend the festival.

“At first we would close our shops early in the evening, but now we keep them open till midnight, as there are so many customers,” he said.

Shehzad, who owns a barbeque stall, said he opened his shop when the festival started and was earning significantly better than what he initially expected.

Initially, residents of Matta had reservations over loud music which was played during prayer timings. However, the administration solved the issue after which the music and announcements are stopped during prayer timings.

Apart from entertainment, the administration has also organised several sports competitions including cricket, hockey, football, badminton, basketball, volleyball, body building, kabaddi, tug of war, cycling, boxing, polo and netball in which several teams from all over the province are taking part.

Although the festival is a positive step towards reviving stability and tourism in Swat valley, it is still considered as a poor attempt by many people.

“Tourism in Swat cannot be streamlined until infrastructure is completely restored,” said a local journalist Niaz Ahmed, adding that the major part of the valley was still cut off due to lack of roads and bridges.

“Madyan, Bahrain and Kalam are the places where people want to go but there is no access to these areas. The government should focus on improving the infrastructure so that they can get the results they desire from these festivities,” he remarked.

The festivities are a joint venture between the provincial and federal government, Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and local hotels funded by United Nations Development Programme.





Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2011.