CHITRAL: The valley of Chitral is facing the worst floods in recent memory. Mercifully the loss of human lives has been minimal but the loss of property will take years to recoup. The magnitude of the tragedy may have been reduced had the people and the Government applied their minds in carrying out development works along the river beds

In those areas where riverbeds have been encroached upon, the losses are significantly high. Under the laws of the land riverbeds are state property and their uses are to be regulated by the Government. Unfortunately, state has abdicated its responsibility to the land grabbers. I myself did a lot of advocacy with the District Government to legislate on this subject and determine the width of the riverbeds in peak flood season and not allow any structure beyond a certain point.

The current flood is a curtain raiser. Environmentalists have been warning us that global warming would cause flash floods in upland areas which would result in the rise of watertable and submerge low lying areas and even countries.

The current floods should therefore be taken as a wake-up call. Steps should be taken on war footing for land utilization and management. Without land management in upland areas, Pakistan runs the risk of silting of its dams, river courses and water channels. There are laws on the subject but these are not being enforced and development projects are carried out without natural compliance.    

During the current floods, I have come across two development projects, which not only got destroyed but also aggravated losses in their catchments area. The protection works along river in Izh village had been constructed by encroaching on the riverbed leaving no space even for moderate flood water to pass. As a result, a dozen shops were washed away when the river overflowed its banks. Five years ago in 2005 when the then DCO had come here to assess flood losses he had strictly warned the people not to encroach upon the riverbeds which were state property.

This warning has gone unheeded and the Government has also failed to establish its writ. A bridge, constructed at this venue is so narrow and prone to silting that it is likely to divert the river course towards the main market and Pamir Degree College, a valuable public property worth Rs.60 million. One may well wonder how the projects were cleared by engineers and funded. 

Another protection work constructed last year at huge cost has guided the river towards the very village it was supposed to save. No engineer or supervisor has lost his job for inefficiency or corrupt motives in carrying out substandard work.    

Downstream on river Lotkoh newly constructed heavy traffic bridge got submerged in mud because its width was not enough to allow flood water pass under it. The throwback of the flood water from the bridge nearly washed away a dozen households settled on a borrowed land. Eight of the households lost their cattle shelter to the flood diversion caused by the bridge.

The losses caused by flooding in Booni Gol and other places can also be attributed to these factors. No protective wall can work to divert the course of flood water in uplands where flow of water is sharply downwards. Here only the width of riverbed and straight position of flow will work. However in plain areas downstream where water flow is smooth, protective walls will and have worked. The Government is well advised to follow this age-old wisdom instead of relying on the reports of its engineers for whom contracting is a gold mine.   

From the above it appears that the recent flash floods in Chitral are as much the handiwork of people and the government as of Mother Nature. Mothers punish their wrong doing children and so does Mother Nature. Is the Government also under punishment for failing to discharge its responsibility? The question now is that what we should do?

The simple answer would be enforcement of laws to regulate land use. If the Government can not manage them, these may be leased out to civic spirited citizens for management and environment compliant use. I know of a case involving land dispute which has been decreed in favor of the state but the state has not taken it over and the land grabber still occupies it saying that he has filed a writ petition in the High Court but there is no stay order. Meanwhile, hostile occupation of the riverbed poses serious threat of flood diversion to adjoining village of 65 households.

The state must wake up to its responsibility. Apart from enforcing laws it should carry out massive forestation in uplands, impose complete ban on cutting of trees, attend to pasture (ban keeping of goats for 10 years and instead focus on poultry, fisheries and dairy farming for protein needs) and glacier management, bring barren lands under cultivation and reduce carbon emission. We owe it to our future generation to bequeath to them a better Chitral than the one we inherited.