The fallacy of KKH

The Karakoram Highway (KKH), referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, is no doubt a strategic source of connectivity between Pakistan and China. Built in 1978 after years of engineering and construction work, hundreds of Chinese and Pakistani workers and engineers gave their lives to complete the 1,300 km long road from Abbottabad to Khunjerab Pass.

Now that dams at Dassu and Diamer-Bhasha are being constructed, they will inundate parts of KKH till Chilas and an alternate road will be constructed to compensate for that. The historic and cultural heritage of KKH will be lost when the two dams producing thousands of megawatts of electricity will be completed over the next five years. It means KKH will not only lose its heritage, but its fallacy as the eighth wonder of the world will also be gone once the two dams will be operational and the historical Silk Road will disappear from the scene.

In a recent journey to KKH from Bisham till Gilgit, I witnessed the fallacy of the much-admired highway diminished as the depleted road from Bisham till Chilas reflected poor maintenance. Adding to the ordeal of passengers using KKH on way to Gilgit and beyond is the construction of Dassu and Diamer-Basha dams which prevented the use of that stretch of the highway from 8am till 1pm as well as in the evening. Indifference and incompetence of authorities responsible for the maintenance of KKH was clearly evident in the shape of lack of arrangements for passengers who remained stuck on the road for hours because of the construction work on the two dams. As it is known that thousands of commuters every day face the torture of being stranded there because of the closure of the highway for several hours, at least the authorities should have constructed accommodations with proper facilities like restrooms and canteens. The ordeal of the passengers on that particular stretch of KKH proves the failure of authorities to provide necessary facilities to stranded travellers.

Lack of vision, imagination and competence of authorities to prevent discomfort to thousands of tourists every day means they have no regard for ordinary people. The idea to construct an alternate route from the venue of the two dams should have been given a practical shape before the launch of the construction work on the dams. Now, in order to provide safety and security to Chinese workers and engineers involved in the construction of these dams and to continue the pace of construction, authorities have decided to close that particular stretch of KKH for several hours daily causing enormous discomfort and torture to the travellers.

A recent travel on KKH to reach Gilgit was a nightmare in view of the collapse of a bridge in Naran because of torrential rains. As a result, those who had planned to go to Gilgit via Naran and Babusar Pass to Chilas had to go to Bisham and take KKH for reaching Gilgit which took 15 hours instead of 10 via Naran and Babusar pass. While Islamabad is claiming to modernise KKH, the reality on the ground is different. From Bisham to Chilas, there is dearth of gas stations as well as facilities of resting places with proper washrooms. People travelling on KKH face triple jeopardy: they have to stop at the construction site of the dams for several hours; bear damaged road because of landslides and lack of maintenance; and suffer the absence of tourist and travel facilities.

In contrast, no major highway in neighbouring countries like India, Iran and China are in such a pathetic condition. The relevant authorities are simply devoid of the vision to provide comfort and facilities to those travelling on KKH. The so-called highway has a single lane despite the claims that under CPEC, it will have three lanes and its destiny will change. With KKH being in such a miserable state, how can trade with China flourish?

The fallacy of the eighth wonder of the world needs to be analysed from three angles.

First, submerging of around 100 km of KKH from Dassu to Chilas will destroy hundreds of Buddhist sculptures and other historical sites. The terrain of both these dams is vulnerable to earthquake and other natural calamities. Why was this site selected for the construction of two dams despite reservations expressed by geologists? Destroying the iconic KKH is lamentable and the decision-makers should have looked for other options for these mega hydal-electricity generation projects.

Second, KKH would have been saved from the construction of two mega dams had the state and political parties developed a consensus on the construction of Kalabagh Dam — a 60-year-old project planned to be constructed on Indus River to irrigate millions of acres of land and generate around 5,000 megawatts of electricity. But the project became a victim of political wrangling particularly between the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. The NWFP (now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) also expressed its reservations on the construction of Kalabagh Dam fearing it will leave the city of Nowshera inundated. Sindh insisted that Kalabagh Dam will be built on its dead body because it would turn the province into a desert as the Indus River water would not reach beyond Kotri, thus destroying the Sindh delta along with its mangrove forest and marine resources. The debate on Kalabagh Dam lacks rationality because those opposing the construction of the reservoir lack plausible arguments. More so, the cost of Kalabagh Dam, which in early 1960s was around 4 billion dollars, has now reached 12 billion dollars. Dasu and Diamar-Basha Dams cannot be a substitute for Kalabagh Dam because of its ideal terrain.

Third, since it is not possible now to dismantle the hydro power projects of Dassu and Diamer-Basha dam, the authorities should focus on constructing an alternate route along KKH in a short span of time so that those who travel through the so-called highway can get some relief. Furthermore, the patch from Bisham and Chilas on KKH must be repaired and adequate tourist facilities be made available.

There is an enormous potential of earning money from tourism all along KKH which depends upon the condition of road, proper tourist facilities and safety of travellers. Luckily, the patch of KKH beyond Chilas to Khunjarab will be intact with its historical landscape. What is required of the authorities is not just to maintain the eighth wonder of the world but to transform it into a world class highway.