Snow-capped roads: Two weeks on, Malam Jabba remains cut-off from Swat

Residents facing food, water shortage and transport issues; urge local admin to clear road.

SWAT:

For the last two weeks, the main road linking Malam Jabba to the rest of Swat has been blocked due to heavy snowfall.

Despite efforts, the Charbagh Tehsil administration has been unable to clear the 5-km road patch from Spiney Obo area to the top of Malam Jabba and residents have started to voice their concerns.

“We have been cut off from the rest of Swat for two weeks now and the local administration has given up on clearing the road,” lamented Gul Zarin, a resident of Qala Patey.

Zarin said with the road blocked, people have been burdened with more chores as they have to walk for miles to buy basic food and household items.

“We have to keep clearing the roofs of our houses of snow, because if it heaps up it can damage the house,” said Zarin. “Sometimes we spend the entire night clearing snow from our roofs,” he added.



Gul Farosh, a local elder, said due to the roadblock, the price of food items has been doubled. Moreover, since water freezes due to low temperature in the area, the shortage of firewood and other fuel has caused a water shortage.

Students have their own concerns. Wasim Sajjad, a sixth grader, said he can only go to school twice a week due to the blocked road. “Our teachers also remain absent and do not come regularly,” he added.

Patients, however, are facing the brunt of the issue. They are forced to make the trip to the hospital on foot, while those who are too ill have to be carried on a charpoy to the nearest bus stop, which is several miles away.

Walking slowly with the help of her neighbour, Jehan Baktha, a heart patient said she walked for around three hours to reach the bus stop so he could go to a hospital. “I missed my doctor’s appointment last week because of the blocked road, and though my condition has gotten worse I had to again walk to get to the bus stop today,” she added.



Some locals claimed that the road is often blocked due to snowfall in the winters, but the administration only clears it if there is a VIP movement.

Locals said though the Tehsil administration has imposed road tax on tourists visiting Malam Jabba, the collections are not being utilised properly. They have appealed to the local government to clear the road on a priority to put an end to their woes.

When contacted, the Tehsial Municipal Officer said the administration does not have enough staff or machinery to remove snow from the road. However, he assured that the administration will do whatever it can.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2012.