Blocked for public access

The Makan Bagh road in Swat has been cordoned off for 18 months now.


Fazal Khaliq October 29, 2010

SWAT: Mingora Bazaar is the main financial hub for a population of nearly 2 million people in Swat district – a figure that has rapidly increased over the past 10 years. The roads, designed the by Late Wali Swat for a limited number of vehicles, no longer feel adequate. They feel narrower than they once did.

As if that was not enough the authorities blocked the Makan Bagh road – going through the heart of Mingora and onwards to Saidu Sharif – in response to a suicide bombing on the Mingora Police station about one-and-a-half-years ago. The police station was shifted to a government boys’ primary school located at Makan Bagh road, which the authorities blocked for security reasons.

And the traffic congestion was further compounded.

Since then, more than 50 shops on that road continue to suffer in silence – some have closed down. Children studying in schools on the road are dropped off at the fringe and have to walk the rest of the way. The owner of the Zam Zam carpets, once a popular business with thousands of customers daily, told The Express Tribune, “For one-and-a-half-year we lost millions of rupees. Eventually we had no choice but to shutdown.”

He added, “We have talked to higher authorities and police officials but to no avail. We will reopen our shop once the road opens up again.”

Abdur Rahman, another shopkeeper, said he had to shift his business after the road was cordoned off. “I used to get many customers. Now I get none.”

DIG Malakand Region Qazi Jamilur Rahman said, “We do realize the difficulties the shopkeepers and the students are facing. We will shift soon and the road will be re-opened for every kind of traffic after that.”

Published in The Express Tribune October 29th, 2010.

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