Lowari Top Jeep Rally a cruel joke with the people of Chitral: Haji Shafa
Chitral: Winters compound the travel woes of the people of Chitral every year. The roads get closed for months. Women, children and men have to wait for a week to cross the Lawari Tunnel to reach Chitral or move out of the valley. The people are told that keeping the tunnel open for two days will cause delays in the work underway. However, the same roads and tunnel are opened for a jeep rally attended by rich people of influential families.
These views were shared by Haji Muhammad Shafa, a social activist from Drosh Valley.
He said that if the government has the resources to arrange such fancy jeep rallies, then they should also invest more on the Lawari Top road and keep it open for the masses. He said that the poor and sick people are disgusted by the attitude of the rulers towards the plight of the masses.
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Was most disturbed to find that the Government has least concern about the fragile landscape, besides of course the people of this region. Would anyone have bothered to analyse the vibration this soaring up of jeeps have have caused?
1966 this area was a dream land. Blue Pines covered the area besides other varieties. Landsliding was barely known then. Today a barren landscape ensures frequent landslides and avalanches.
The awards given to the participants….would that be donations or taxpayers money. If latter, then then the recepients should give it to the school children up there, to start revegetation program.
It is only hoped, that who ever initiated this activity will wake up to the damage it jmight have already caused.