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Lawari Tunnel a great miracle in the World
Once I was traveling through a dilapidated long underground way
called Lawari Tunnel which was being constructed by SAMBU a Korean
construction company. I was in a Land Cruiser of the same Company
along with my younger brother Javed who was coming home on leave. I
was imagining again and again about the complex technicalities of
the work being undertaken by the concerned company. Among the
caravan of 500 vehicles traveling towards north through the dark
under ground rout with the roaring sound of water falling from the
roof due to leakage I remembered the mythological journey of
Zulumat performed by Sikandar Zulqarnain along with his comrades
and military personnel in search of Ab-e-Hayat. Reverberation of
sound stemmed from vehicles intermingling with other appalling
sounds of air blowing through an unending long funnel created
wonderful situation. Some vehicles surpassed others in hurry to
terminate the incertitude while others traveled smoothly enjoying
the coupling of two different districts of Chitral and Dir having
varied characteristics and traditions. One district was proud of
its rifles and bullets as local statute with harsh fluent language
another with leniency and forbearance even with their enemies as
its logo were bended together through this underground tunnel.
Under this long tunnel 90% vehicles owned by Dir endured the
slamming sound of shutting the doors of the remaining 10 % vehicles
owned by Chitralies. The queue of vehicles maintaining well
discipline like the military convoy moved forward respecting each
other as we regularly watched war stories in the Television.
Submerged in echoing and banging sounds of vehicles I was thinking
about figures that made history by joining these two distinct
districts with diverse cultures together.
During my painstaking journey beneath the earth I was thinking
about those irrational figures who claimed to be its originator. It
is a pity. We could not put the good name of Lawari Tunnel on the
shoulders of those flimsy and sleazy people blindly who endeavored
to make the real owners controversial by leveling allegations on
them.
The journey beneath the earth took 32 minutes. Suddenly, a spark of
light awakened me from deep cogitation. I found myself in the lure
valley of Chitral with long and congested Juniper and Diyar trees
covered with snow were around me. The old zigzag road was crossing
Lawari Pass from the top above me. The vehicles were checked by
Frontier constabulary one by one and directed them to make a line.
Through a restricted valley a procession of vehicles of different
kinds including hundreds of loaded trucks and Toyota jeeps with
commodities of daily use was moving towards their homeland very
steadily maintaining a degree of honor and decorum. The passengers
were laughing giving tribute to Gen. Parvez Musharaf and his team
for this important activity. It took another 40 minutes to reach
Drosh. What I saw at Drosh Bazar were fresh fruits, vegetables of
different varieties, buffalo meet, stock of flour in various
places, bags of sugar in piled form etc. At the end of Drosh Bazar
I saw a loaded mobile jeep distributing vegetables among the people
gathered around it in very nominal cost. I bought 4 dozen oranges
of good quality in Rs. 240 for my younger brothers from them at the
rate of Rs. 60/ dozen. On the way coming home I also saw many
Toyota Dotsons loaded with poultry chicks confined in cages made of
wires and bars traveling towards Chitral Town. Earlier in this
season chicken and fresh fruits and vegetables were hardly
available in Chitral and Drosh Bazar. People used local poultry and
vegetables in very expensive costs. When I left for Peshawar
Chitral seemed desolate and ruined place like a house unfit to live
in. When I came back it was a cosmopolitan busy city of different
nations with allurement. Within a shortest period of time a sea
change occurred in our economy. Chitral became a business hub and a
commercial corridor. In the month of January I saw our Afghan
brothers selling fresh and green vegetables sitting beside the road
covered with snow. The red colored tomato, green colored spinach,
purple colored auberjine, yellow colored cauliflower, placed on the
ground surrounded by snow as white as milk arranged delicately
before greengrocers wrapped with darken quilt offered a fantastic
scenario like an arcenciel emerged just after the end of rain. Huge
crowed were gazing at the stock of vegetables of different colors
silently waiting their turn. Appearance of vegetables of varied
colours with their peculiarity placed on the snow attracted the
people. Other shops decorated with different items were opened for
their customers’ whole day. Heavy loaded trucks in different points
were involved unloading commodities blocking the traffic. It was a
queer phenomenon. Chitral’s demographic characteristics completely
altered just after the opening of Lawari Tunnel, the Tunnel which
was awaited from time immemorial.
Construction of another Tunnel between Mastuj and Ghezer District
of Northern Areas under Shandur Pass which also remains cut off for
almost six month of the year from Northern Areas due to heavy snow
fall is a viable suggestion to achieve the long term objectives of
the Lawari Tunnel in thorough. Chumarkan gole and Harchin Gole at
Mastuj are the two feasible places for this project. This tunnel
after its completion would be used as alternative to silk rout
during emergency. As a circular road it will provide year round
linkages and coherence between Northern Areas and entire Districts
of NWFP from extreme north. The length of this Tunnel would be 4 to
5 KM and the project would also be economically feasible. Our
leadership should divert their concentration towards this important
activity in order to materialize the dream of Gen. Pervez Musharaf
who determined to join all remotest areas of Chitral and Northern
Areas together through a network of roads and tunnels beneath the
mountains. This project should be initiated by SAMBU the Korean
Company after comprehensive investigation of ground condition is
undertaken.
Maham Saleem
Chitral |
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