Tourism and Birmogh Lasht Road
The efforts made by the KP government to promote tourism have received much publicity than the work on the ground. A small city like Chitral does have a local government and is under the deputy commissioner but when you enter the town area, from a tourist point of view, it does not give an appreciable look.
The first impression is the last impression and the newcomer gets disappointed to see garbage heaps and blocked runnels. The administration should feel its responsibility as told by the department concerned. The chief minister or the chief secretary should not be expected to send directives every week to perform duties. It is once directed and the officers concerned have to carry out the orders and do the needful. The KP tourism corporation should also coordinate in the performance of the line departments with whom tourism is concerned.
The road system inside Chitral city is deteriorating and cannot bear the load of heavily loaded vehicles. The wear and tear is the part of the physical world and measures have to be in regular action to keep things in proper order but tourism requires improvement to show a better picture of the various destinations. One of such neglected roads is the one known as Governor Cottage road through Goldur. It is in very poor condition.
This area is the heart of the city but when you go into it the odour of poultry stocks and the stores of scrape and waste dumped into the rooms alongside the narrow road is a matter of shame. The so called Cottage road is not a road but a poorly designed stain on the performance of the department concerned.
The road that goes up to Birmogh Lasht was constructed in the past – under the corvee system of the rulers of Chitral. The Birmogh Lasht (now called summer palace by tourists and drivers) was built as a summer house for the ruler in the reign of H.H. Shujaul Mulk and it used to be a centre of state administration and jeeps of the royal house used to ply between Chitral Fort and Birmogh Lasht.
Many constructions had been completed for various purposes including British officers who visited Chitral in summers. This road deserves immediate improvement.
The TC–KP has got to improve this road fit for modern traffic and has to provide certain facilities at Birmogh Lasht as a resort, to attract more local and foreign tourists (but in a controlled number per day to save ecology) according to the vision of the PTI government as it is now completing 9 years tenure in the province and has failed to develop a single tourist resort, let alone, the destinations that are far away.
Work on roads under the provincial government to tourist spots and destinations, is too slow except the Swat Motor Way. If the people of Swat are against the said Motor way (as reported by print media) then it could be shifted towards Dir upper. For the people of Dir are also part of Malakand division and deserve better facilities.