Kalam residents repair road on self-help basis
Residents of Kalam Valley on Monday started repairs to the dilapidated Kalam Road on a self-help basis.
They said they got so frustrated by the government’s failure to repair the key artery in the last three years that they decided to repair the road by themselves to ease their as well as tourists’ difficulties in the region.
Community elders and the Hotel Association began the work, demanding that the government immediately commence the construction of the Kalam Road to promote tourism and alleviate the hardships faced by locals.
Hotel Association president Abdul Wadud, former tehsil nazim Habibullah Saqib, ANP leader Dr Shah Khan, PTI activist Asif Shahzad and elders Nasrullah Saqib and Syed Nabi told reporters that their repeated requests to authorities for road repairs fell on deaf ears and therefore, they decided to carry out the work on their own.
“When we lost hope in the government, we decided to take matters into our own hands,” an elder said.
He said the move was meant to ease people’s misery and protect the tourism sector from further damage.
The residents acknowledged the limited resources available for road repairs but said they were committed to completing the work “as much as possible.”