PESHAWAR: A major anti-encroachment operation is underway in Swat district to restore the normal flow of water in river Swat by demolishing illegally built structures.
As many as 45 structures that had encroached river Swat and caused floods have already been demolished in Kalam and Madyan, two beautiful tourist spots in upper Swat. Most of the encroachments were in Kalam, where 35 illegal structures by the riverside were identified by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa irrigation department. Another 15 illegal buildings were pointed out by the irrigation department in Madyan and razed to the ground. Among them was one owned by Shaukat Ali, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA from Peshawar.
Saqib Raza Aslam, deputy commissioner, Swat told The News that this house was under-construction and work was being done on the second storey when action was taken to demolish it. When asked if the administration faced pressure to spare it as the house belonged to a ruling party lawmaker, he said no favour was done to anyone and action was taken on the recommendation of the irrigation department to restore the flow of river Swat and prevent floods in future.
An official said Shaukat Ali’s house was being built almost in the centre of the river and there was no way it could be saved. He had approached a court and obtained a stay order also, but the government quickly used the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa River Protection Act 2002 to justify its demolition. The authorities had done their homework when demolishing the 45 illegal structures in Kalam and Madyan by mobilizing manpower and machinery by 6.30 am in the morning. There was no resistance and before long the task was completed.
According to Deputy Commissioner Saqib Raza Aslam, another 42 illegal structures built by the riverside in Babuzai tehsil in Swat were also marked for demolition. “In the first phase, 90 illegal structures encroaching river Swat were identified by the irrigation department in the district and are being demolished. They say it would allow flow of enough water in the river to prevent flood that comes once in 100 years. According to the irrigation department, 80,000 to 90,000 cusecs water would flow in river Swat once all these encroachments are removed,” he explained. Swat is a congested, densely populated valley where 60-65 percent of the population is living on both sides of the river. The river is heavily polluted and unchecked encroachment has made matters worse. Sewage from hotels, restaurants and houses directly flows into the river as it meanders down to the plains of Peshawar Valley. The devastating floods in 2010-2011 in Swat reportedly happened once in 1,000 years. The land settlement in Swat was done as late as 1985. In Kalam land settlement is being done now. Landowners have been in a frenzy to build houses and hotels. Houses damaged in floods were quickly rebuilt and hotels and restaurants received help from foreign donors to revive their businesses. Swat presently has about 638 hotels and tourists flow is expected to increase as the road from Madyan to Kalam has been rebuilt to improve accessibility to most-visited tourism spots. The plan to extend the completed first phase of Swat Motorway from Chakdara to Fatehpur in Swat in the second phase would make it easier, quicker and comfortable to reach Upper Swat and enjoy the beauty of Kalam and the largely unexplored tourist spots beyond it. According to official estimates, Kalam has about 258 hotels.
The deputy commissioner Swat said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan fully backed the anti-encroachment drive even though he belongs to Swat. He said the chief secretary too supported the action. The irrigation department is required to keep identifying encroachments by the Swat riverside in the second phase of the drive as there are many more that need to be demolished. Septic tanks are now a requirement for all hotels and awareness is being created about reducing pollution in river Swat. It is a huge challenge, but implementing existing laws and taking timely action is needed to meet it head-on.
