Dirt track?: Villagers protest dilapidated condition of Mingora-Jambil road

Say incumbent govt made empty promises like its predecessors.

MINGORA:

Hundreds of residents of Kokarai and Jambil villages took to the streets on Wednesday in protest over the abysmal condition of the road connecting Mingora to Jambil.

Residents of more than 10 villages started off from their respective areas and gathered in front of Swat Press Club, holding placards and chanting slogans against the National Highway Authority (NHA) and the government. According to the protesters, the 28-kilometre stretch of road, which connects a population of 30,000 from more than 10 villages, is dilapidated.



“In the past 20 years, our road has gone from bad to worse. However, no government has either repaired or constructed it,” said Akbar Karam, one of the protesters. “Every [successive] government promises to reconstruct the road but the promises remain shallow claims.” He added the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government had also promised to construct the road after assuming power.

“We collectively voted for them, but the PTI government is also behaving the same way as other previous ones.”

Demonstrators said the condition of the road is so bad it looks like a dirt track, claiming they have taken to the streets out of sheer desperation.

“Every other day, we take our vehicles to the mechanic for repairs as the road is full of stones. We earn less and spend more on our transport,” said Gohar Ali, a driver of public transport vehicles.

Protesters said they also suffer from dust-related health problems. “Shopkeepers and traders in bazaars along the road face severe problems due to the heavy dust which rises from the road when vehicles pass through,” complained Barkat Lala, an elder. “We will take severe steps soon if work on the road is not initiated this time.”

When the elected representative from the area was contacted, MPA Fazal Hakeem said the condition of the road was the same during the previous governments, but people did not come out and protest. “We realise the issue without them having to protest and hope construction work will start in the coming month or two,” he told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2014.