SWAT: The elders of Kalam Valley in Swat district protested against the non-construction of the 6 km road from Bahrain to Kalam and threatened to close all the hotels in the area and the entry of government officials will be banned if the road is not constructed.
“The elders of Kalam Mittaltan, Attur, Gabral and adjoining areas reached the Swat Press Club in the form of a procession carrying placards and banners here on Friday.”
After the protest, while holding a press conference at the Swat Press Club, the General Secretary of Kalam Hotels Association Rehmat Din Siddiqui, Local Government Representative Malik Ghulam Ali, Ex. Loacal Naizm Malik Hasan Zeb and other local leaders said that the 33 km road of Kalam was badly damaged in the devastating flood of 2010. Due to which the land connection of Kalam with other areas was cut off and the people lost millions of rupees due to lack of tourism in the area.
They said that since 2010, a fund of billions of rupees has been approved for the reconstruction of Klam road and a lot of money has also been released, but it is a pity that despite the passage of such a long time, the work on the road has not been completed.
“Along with the road, several communication bridges have also been destroyed, adding that due to which tourists coming from all over the country besides the locals are facing serious difficulties in transportation,” They further said.
They said that due to the dilapidated condition of the road, more than a hundred traffic accidents have occurred on Kalam Road so far. In which many precious lives have been lost and hundreds of vehicles have been destroyed.
The elders said from the Prime Minister to the Chief Minister and various departments have approved the fund for the construction of Kalam road, but so far neither the work on the road has been completed nor any trace of the approved fund for it.
“Provincial government and other authorities should start work on Kalam Road as soon as possible and complete it. Otherwise, we will be forced to lock all the hotels and close the road and ban the entry of government officials into Kalam,” they clarified.
