Dear Friends of Heritage and environment,
It is true that ruling elite and their sons misused government rest houses of NWFP.
It is true that they abused those facilities and either they never
paid for their private stays in those rest houses or they paid from
public Exchequer.
Instead of selling off and looting public properties, government
could have eradicated loop holes and corrupt people who were misusing
assets of the government.
Some years ago private transporters lobbied and paid bribe to NWFP
ministers and they sold off massive public assets of Government
transport service (GTS) and citizens are now being abused and
mistreated at the hands of private transport mafia...
Some time ago, the same drug selling transport mafia burnt down buses
of a disciplined and honest Daewoo company also...why.. ??
It is true that ternal rulers of Pakistan were looting the golden
eggs of the public assets and now they got so bold that free loaders
of semi private corporation ( Sarhad Tourism Corporation) has decided
to sell the heritage sites and trees of Nathiagali which belong to
people of Pakistan.
Here is what the official website www.nwfp.gov. pk reports about
destruction plans of tiny health sanitoriam and sanctuary known as
Nathiagali.
Instead of reducing his kitchen expenses of millions and laying off
the burden of free loaders of STC and white elephants like Pakistan
Tourism Corporation (PTDC), government of Shaukat Aziz is selling off
public assets at throw away prices...???
Elaborating a future plan of STC, the Tourism Minister asserted that
the NWFP government was very soon announcing an attractive package
for the foreign and domestic tourists besides setting up tourists
information centers in various entry points of the touring areas of
the province. Similarly in the first phase, selected attractive
points of the Malakand and Hazara Divisions would be developed and
gradually this program would be expanded to the entire province in
the second phase, he added. He on this occasion also announced
construction of Tourism Complex costing Rs.50 million in Nathia Gali
in place of the 4 Rest Houses of the STC.
Keeping in view that Nathiagali is much higher than 7000 feet high
Murree and keeping in view the requirements of EPA 1997 and limited
load bearing capacity of those peaks of Nathiagali, any heavy
constructions will for sure destroy the leftover bio-diversity and
eco system of that area.
Hordes of tourists, their vehicles, garbage produced by them will
over burden the infrastructure of that area, eco system will be
shocked, remaining trees will die and it will trigger a chain
reaction of environmental catastrophe.
Pristine forests of Nathiagali will convert into human waste infested
concrete jungle.
In order to view recent photos of Nathiagali and to read a
comprehensive research about the destruction of Galliat
mountains,which got published in the footloose section of the news on
sunday, please click on the following link:
http://www.jang. com.pk/thenews/ sep2006-weekly/ nos-03-09-
2006/foo.htm# 1
At the end I quote a news item about destruction of Nathiagali, which
recently got published in the opinion section of the leading
newspaper the News on august 25, 2006.
Dying Nathiagali
By Naeem Sadiq
With each passing kilometre of the 34-kilometre journey from
Abbotabad to Nathiagali, one can see, smell and feel a distinct
change in scenery, lengthening of pine trees, freshness of air and
rapid rise of altitude. The chatty cab driver who drove us to
Nathiagali in his well-maintained Suzuki had little hesitation in
assuming the additional assignment of a tour guide -- an old
tradition adopted by almost everyone you come across in the
mountains. He did not need much prompting and was generous in
volunteering info that ranged from his part-time hobbies to depletion
of the ozone layer. "If at all I regret any thing in life, it is the
cutting of forests that I was involved in for seven long years. I cut
trees as if there was no tomorrow.
Once every week, I would bring a truck and load it with the finest
pine trees, the jewels of this forest", he said with an obvious sense
of regret and sorrow. "But did no one catch you in all these seven
years," I could not help asking a question that bordered between
partial naivety and absolute silliness. "Of course there are two
agencies whose palms must be greased, if one has to do any sensible
woody business. The forest department and the police. But those guys
are very accommodating and highly accomplished in the deployment
of 'live and let live' principle. Simply deposit 25 per cent of the
market value of the cut trees and move on with your truck". Coming
directly from the mouth of an ex-forest destroyer, these words were
not the best way to start a vacation on a mountain resort.
The nostalgic fragrance of pine trees, the immensity of dense natural
forests and the clean mountain air, powerfully make their presence
felt well before one reaches the outskirts of Nathiagali. No wonder
that this sleepy little resort stands out as the finest and the
prettiest hill station in Pakistan. Having frequently visited
Nathiagali, almost like a pilgrimage for the past thirty-odd years,
one is saddened to notice an air of neglect, disorder and
commercialism creeping over what was once a serene, quiet and
peaceful retreat.
The streets which were once reserved for passer-bys, children and
cyclists, are now raced by the smoke-emitting, truck-size Pajeros,
driven by haughty politicians, bureaucrats and landlords, devastating
the silence and serenity of nature with their power horns, extra-
revving engines and missing mufflers. One can not help noticing that
the biggest violators are government vehicles, perpetually being
misused to shuttle families, friends and performing odd jobs such as
lugging construction materials for the 'saab's' under construction
summer house.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) obviously considers hill
resorts exempted from any application of environmental protection
laws. Not that they are considered any more necessary for the rest of
the country. The untreated effluent from the toilets of Green's –
Nathiagali's most sought-after hotel -- merrily slides down the
winding curves to pollute miles of downstream walkways. Those
enjoying a walk on the heavenly mountain-hugging mountain trails
(between the old telephone exchange and the so-called 'green spot')
are suddenly required to plug their noses, pull up their socks and
pretend to be looking in the opposite direction, to escape the
onslaught of such 'effluential' waterfalls. Such blatant violations
are no longer noticed by the powerful and the influential, since they
now practice a modern technique of walking that involves sitting in a
large, fast moving, four-wheeler and harshly pressing a lever located
at its bottom right.
Conspicuous by their company logos, waste disposal drums placed at
various turns and corners are comparatively new and welcome
additions. Here, one should thanks our corporate bodies who are
beginning to make their contribution to society by helping out on
issues of education and environments. But what is sad is the cosmetic
nature of this entire exercise because there is no designated
landfill where these well-decorated boxes can be emptied. The
individually collected small volumes of trash thus find their way to
become large heaps of litter, callously spread on slopes and pits
behind every shop and hotel.
Built in 1930, the four kilometre pipeline track between Dungagali
and Ayubia has provided tourists with a walking experience that is
quite simply out of this world. It had to be the honour of this great
Islamic Republic to completely destroy this heavenly walking track by
digging and laying a new pipeline in a manner that could embarrass
even the technicians of the Harappa. This great walking track has now
been converted into a walkers' nightmare by its littered stones,
uneven heaps of mud and pipes protruding out from the ground. Perhaps
laying of water pipes is a highly complex and advanced technology and
thus not yet well understood by our engineers. Now that we are
somewhat free from our centrifugal obsessions, perhaps we could
concentrate on also mastering the art of laying water pipelines.
Despite all the negative factors progressively degrading its
environments, Nathiagali continues to offer a wonderful experience of
serenity, natural beauty and of course the unique scent of its pine
trees. Must we destroy it all by our callousness and greed? Can the
heartless government itself be made accountable to address the issues
suggested in this article. Could the concerned citizens of the
mountains as well as the plains come together to launch a movement to
help improve Nathiagali?
The writer is a social activist based in Karachi.
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Thanks and regards,
Mahmood Aslam
For any reponse to any emailsd I send please contact me personally on saffyhuk@yahoo. co.uk or sarfraz_hayat@ hotmail.com
|