Gos, an out of sight village
Deh ba Deh
GH Farooqui
CHITRAL: Gos village is located near the Drosh town of Lower Chitral, away from the attention of authorities and media as it is hidden behind scenic hills.
The Gos village is situated between the mountains at a considerable height and cannot be seen from the ground – it can become visible to you only if you are flying over the area in a plane.
Though this area is out of sight it can’t go out of your mine once you look at its scenic beauty and attractive landscape by visiting it.
To reach the are, one needs to cross the Drosh Gol mountain. The village has a population of about 700 but there is no road, school or hospital. A non-governmental organization constructed an unpaved route for approaching the village a few years ago. Before that, the area residents had to climb the mountain to reach there.
Local children told ChitralToday that there is a ruined building of a Maktab school in the area which is also in a bad shape and anyone entering it feels scared because of its dilapidated condition.
There is no dispensary or any other health centre in the entire area and people carry their patients in beds to Drosh hospital. In some cases, patients die before reaching hospital because the landscape is so difficult that shifting patients to hospital is a herculean task.
The local children brave all kinds of weather, rains, strong winds and snowfall and walk three to four hours daily to go to school located in the Drosh town. The return journey from the school is even more difficult and risky as the students scale the mountain to reach their homes.
The life of the women of the area is also very difficult and testing as they fetch water on their head from springs on the mountains far off from their homes.
The local people said people come to the area to seek votes in election days but no one is seen after the elections. They said their area is also far from the attention of the media and there is no one to highlight their problems.
They told our correspondent that it might be the first time when some media representative has come to them. They said they are virtually living in the Stone Age due to no facilities. They demanded the government to provide basic facilities to them as they are also equal citizens of the country.