| Tourists who once flocked
to picturesque Kaghan Valley in NWFP can once again
access its legendary mountain retreats after a project
funded by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) cleared more than 64 km of winding
mountain roads in Kawai and Hangarai Union Councils.
Another 40 km of roads will be cleared in the coming
weeks, as part of an ongoing $2.6 million USAID
program to restore livelihoods in Kaghan Valley.
Nearly 500,000 foreign tourists enter Pakistan
every year, with at least half heading to northern
Pakistan. Kaghan Valley was one such popular destination
until last year’s fatal earthquake blocked
roads, collapsed hotels and left thousands without
jobs in the tourism industry, the economic mainstay
of the community. Restoring road access is a critical
component to revitalizing tourism and invigorating
the area’s economy.
Using locally hired labor, USAID partner ACTED
removed landslide and earthquake rubble, cut away
fallen trees, removed boulders, and built stone
retaining walls to strengthen roadsides. Stone
retaining walls, built by skilled local masons
using recycled rubble, also widened access where
mountainsides had crumbled away.
Reopened roads include a 7-km stretch that clings
to the side of a mountain and provides the only
way into the famous wooded retreat of Shogran,
altitude 7,800 feet. A team of 20 men, including
four skilled masons, began clearing the road in
late March. While the road to Shogran opened in
early May, work continues to further improve and
widen it. Local reports indicate that tourists
have begun to trickle back to surviving hotels.
By using local labor, this USAID road clearing
project builds a sense of ownership among residents
and brings employment to an area that desperately
needs income. Each unskilled worker receives 200
rupees a day, while skilled craftsmen like masons
are paid 400 rupees a day.
Junaid Qasim, the Balakot Tehsil nazim, expressed
his gratitude for USAID’s work at a community
meeting on July 6 attended by more than 75 residents
of Kawai village. At the meeting, a Kawai resident
thanked the American people for working in unity
with Muslims. Residents openly applauded the United
States’ decision to provide $200 million
in reconstruction aid over the next four years.
Andrew MacLeod, a USAID-funded advisor to the
Pakistan government, told residents that tourism
in the area would benefit from the positive impressions
taken home by foreign aid workers.
The ongoing USAID program in Kaghan Valley includes
repairing 58 water supply schemes, constructing
15 community centers, building awareness of safe
reconstruction techniques, and training residents
in plumbing, agriculture, animal husbandry, embroidery
and other vocational skills. More than 2,500 families
recently returned from tent camps will receive
shelter materials to stay warm this winter. USAID
has also hired local labor to help widows and
disabled people remove rubble from their land
and build shelter.
The United States, through USAID, is providing
more than $1.5 billion in development assistance
to Pakistan over the next five years to improve
education, health, governance and economic growth.
In addition, the United States has pledged a total
of $510 million in earthquake relief and reconstruction
efforts to assist the people of Pakistan and to
support Pakistani government relief and reconstruction
efforts.
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