Once falling under the reign of terror, facing the largest displacement after military operation, the breathtaking valley of Swat - ringed by Hindu Kush mountains, once again invites its beloved nature lovers to flock to its scenic treasure. Located about 250 kilometers away from Islamabad, a valley - ‘regained paradise lost’ comes in the mountainous region to the north of the Peshawar plain; it includes the main valley of the upper course of the River Swat, for a length of about 200 km from the source.
After restoring peace, the valley seemed tranquil. Stores were opened and streets were bustling. Merchants, children, shoppers, bicyclists, goats, donkey carts, rickshaws and tractors jostled for space in the narrow roadways.
Efforts to promote tourism of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) at Swat valley of course weigh a lot. To accomplish the goal, it offered attractive package to foreigners for Udyana and Suvastu- an ancient sources for Swat because of the scenic beauty of the valley and the name of the river respectively.
Apart from its fascinating landscapes, crystal clear water torrents, diverse flora and fanna, mesmerizing lakes, there are some ‘installations’ although to be ‘overlooked’ yet widely observed by visitors.
Factually, the spectacle role of Pakistan Army made possible the ‘densely forested valley’ peaceful for the survivors. It owes responsibility to continue safeguard ‘the beauty of nature’ through stalling its troops for lasting peace in the area.
People on their visit to Swat come across sprawling troops at different check posts to the valley, alarming the visitors of the residue of the past. The troops’ deployment is a part of long term strategy for durable peace, but it instilled a premature caution of the presence of relics of past for all.
In addition, another factor which reduces visits of tourists at the valley is presence of stinky atmosphere that surrounds the area. Rather, worth seen places have been abused by the people having least concern about beauty of nature.
“Worse” because for the most part, the quality of that local room, food and health products are unreliable and probably unregulated. And whose fault is that - the tourist’s?”, said a visitor staying at common and a low-paid motel. He added the motel management probably don’t filter their drinking water (forcing each and every guest to buy bottles of water, don’t provide garbage and bin and don’t ask guests if they’d be willing to have their sheets washed every other day.
It is not a matter of local business, some tourists and inhabitants of the locality were noticed throwing their garbage on the ground without even looking for a garbage bin - someone will deal with it, sometime. “I saw a lot of garbage on the way from Islamabad to here,” said a local journalists on trip to Swat.
It’s overwhelming issue, not to be overlooked, if we really want to revive the old era in the valley, to make it a ‘tourists heaven. What to be suggested, it should be taken at earnest level, for nature attracts people through its cleanliness.
Upon that critical situation, spokesman of Ministry of Tourism, Joint Secretary Muhammad Yasin Janjua described the issue as ‘very important’, but passed the buck to Tehsil Municipal Administration of Swat.
He said that it should at least be given training to the locals to save the environment, for it would boom business in malls of the city, causing prosperity to the local people. He assured to convey ‘the observation’ to concerned authority soon.
Answering the general impression after deploying the security forces at place to place in the area, the spokesman told APP that the matter had already been taken up in meeting with the military officials deputed in the locality.
“We told them to remove security check or at least lower down upto remarkable extent”, he said.
The cheered Moulana Atta-ur-Rehman after restoration of peace in the scenic valley, by using this medium of agency urged countrymen to visit Swat, assuring of complete security in the area. He added the provincial and federal governments were making efforts to revive tourism in the picturesque Swat valley.
He owed important role to the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to revive Swat, once a tourist hub. To conclude, it is certainly a paradise for nature lovers where they can feast their eyes on the diverse bounties of nature ranging from the densely forested.
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