Visitors happy as chairlifts in Malam Jabba repaired

MINGORA: The visitors on Sunday expressed their joy as the chairlifts at Malam Jabba, which had been out of order over the last eight years, have been repaired.The chairlifts were damaged during the reign of terror in scenic Swat valley in 2008 when a number of schools and other government installations were bombed by militants.

Local people, including Nawab Ali, Ayub Ali and Ghulam Hussain expressed happiness over the restoration of the chairlifts in Malam Jabba and urged the government to repair the damaged road and other infrastructure in Swat.

They said the government should make all the necessary facilities available in Swat to attract local and foreign tourists to the valley, which will not only generate revenue, but also provide jobs to the young people.

The residents said that the length of the chairlifts was over 1,000 metres and its repair had drastically increased the number of tourists.The tourists also asked the authorities to launch work on the Kalam Road, which is in dilapidated condition. “Though we want to go to the scenic Kalam valley we decided against it due to the dilapidated condition of the road,” a tourist said.