Impending ecological disaster in the scenic Naran

Impending ecological disaster in the scenic Naran

What once used to be a remote hill station in the scenic Mansehra district and was operative for a short five months in a year, has now turned into a major tourist destination not just for the indigenous population but also for the international tourists.
Naran, some 8 kms further from the Kaghan valley, is now a bustling city of dozens of hotels and the scenic town main bazaar now stretches to almost two kilometers in length.

Naran, which also acts as the starting point for the world renowned Lake Saif-ul-Malook, remained in oblivion until the region was made accessible after the Kaghan Road project was started to shorten the distance to Gilgit via Babusar pass. The road which
is still under construction crisscrossed these scenic valleys, bringing a new dimension of business and road tourism to the region. But all this has not come without a heavy price.

The hotels which were once mere structures of wooden log huts have now been replaced with huge concrete buildings, some of them even five-storied. The throng of local population that visits the valley is least educated about preserving and taking care of
the environment. The valley which has been the cradle of trade and culture for the small region all the way up to Babusar village, is now replete with garbage dumps and heaps of rubbish can be easily spotted behind the hotels and shops.

The massive construction spree has left dumps of wasted construction material left over by the hotel owners and the town municipal authorities seems to be conveniently oblivious of the fall out of these waste dumps.

The increased inflow of tourists also brings in heavy transport vehicles which constantly spew fumes of burned diesel and heavy fuels further deteriorating the fresh atmosphere of the valley. The traffic vows, noise pollution, over-usage of horns, increased
usage of wood as fuel and unchecked garbage heaps, are leading the valley to what will eventually have dire repercussions for the region. Authorities both in the Capital as well as the provincial authorities in the KPK must work out a strategy to lessen the
burden on tourist influx in the valley without affecting the bustling business in the region. 

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Posted by Naveed A Bari on Nov 12 2011. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry