'Never seen' influx of tourists in Kaghan Valley triggers fuel shortage

[ghazi52]

'Never seen' influx of tourists in Kaghan Valley triggers fuel shortage

Web Desk
July 26, 2021

MANSEHRA: The influx of tourists to the Kaghan Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mansehra district has created a fuel shortage in the area, reported Geo News on Monday.

The tourists that have thronged to the area after Eid ul Adha are struggling to find fuel as the local petrol pumps are not equipped to cater to the demand. Long queues of vehicles could be seen at every filling station in the area.

Apart from the fuel shortage, the roads of the area have also been choked triggering major traffic jams as a record number of people headed to the area.

“Around 0.7 million vehicles carrying tourists have entered the valley so far and more motorists are on the way to this picturesque destination,” District Police Officer (DPO) Asif Bahadur said.

Tourists, who started rushing to the Kaghan Valley from the first day of Eid ul Adha, are still pouring in.

“We have never seen such a huge number of vehicles entering the valley but we are doing our best to manage the traffic flow within the available resources,” the police officer said.

The tourists who flocked to the valley from within the country and even abroad visited the Babusar Top, Saiful Muluk Lake, Lulusar and even Dodi Pat Sar.

“The Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road which links KP with Gilgit- Baltistan is in dire need of blacktopping and potholes must be filled,” Mohammad Jabran, a tourist from Karachi said.

He said that until the MNJ Road and its arteries, leading to the Saiful Muluk Lake and other such exotic places, were not carpeted, the prime minister’s tourism vision couldn’t be a success.

Hussain Deen, the chairperson of the Hoteliers Association in the Kaghan Valley, said that hotels and restaurants were full.

“The hoteliers and visitors are strictly following coronavirus standard operating procedures set by the government for the tourism industry,” he added.

'Never seen' influx of tourists in Kaghan Valley triggers fuel shortage

MANSEHRA: The influx of tourists to the Kaghan Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mansehra district has created a fuel shortage in the area, reported Geo News on Monday.The tourists that have...

www.thenews.com.pk

 

[TNT]

I am all up for tourism and all but i have witnessed myself, droves of ppl come in, like parasites, littering everywhere, burning any wood and then not putting it out properly, plastic bags everywhere. They behave like baboons and act as if they are doing a huge huge favor by visiting the place.
Last year in kumrat, the roots of trees caught fire and we had to work for weeks to put it out, the morons come n cook and then dnt out out the fire properly. We also had to work for weeks to just pick up all the plastic bags n stuff.

 

[graphican]

Some problems are good as they bring benefits along with them. If internal tourism is increasing, that's a great news for travelers as well as the hosts.

 

[mumairb]

How much money the local tourism bring from taxes to Pakistan, any figures have been revealed.

I remember reading somewhere that Chinese collected as much as 400 Billion dollars just on their National defense holidays in September from local tourism.

 

[ghazi52]

How much money the local tourism bring from taxes to Pakistan, any figures have been revealed.

I remember reading somewhere that Chinese collected as much as 400 Billion dollars just on their National defense holidays in September from local tourism.

I don't think they pay any tax, but the local people got employment, some infrastructure improvement, supply of goods to the area and some local inputs.

 

[Bouncer]

I am all up for tourism and all but i have witnessed myself, droves of ppl come in, like parasites, littering everywhere, burning any wood and then not putting it out properly, plastic bags everywhere. They behave like baboons and act as if they are doing a huge huge favor by visiting the place.
Last year in kumrat, the roots of trees caught fire and we had to work for weeks to put it out, the morons come n cook and then dnt out out the fire properly. We also had to work for weeks to just pick up all the plastic bags n stuff.

Good for the locals getting jobs but this will ruin these areas in a few years. Unchecked commercial developments and no oversight or regulation. Hotels are being built right on the edge of lakes.

 

[ghazi52]

Good for the locals getting jobs but this will ruin these areas in a few years. Unchecked commercial developments and no oversight or regulation. Hotels are being built right on the edge of lakes.

That is true and very sad state of affairs.

 

[Asimzranger]

I think they should have toll tax and fine for tourist for littering.

 

[ghazi52]

Unfortunate scene at Mahodand lake.

This is flip side of relentlessness influx of tourist without any check to prevent littering and plastic waste.

 

[ghazi52]

Tourism putting stress on Pakistan environment:

Amin Ahmed
April 22, 2021

Pakistan has a rich mountain landscape, boasting some of the highest peaks and longest glaciers in the world. — S.M.Bukhari's

ISLAMABAD: Stating that the mountainous regions of Pakistan offer some of the most spectacular and fascinating landscapes and ecology in the world, a study released by the World Bank has warned that tourism in these areas is placing increasing stress on the local environment, leading to increased pollution, natural habitat loss and pressure on endangered species.

“These effects can gradually destroy the environmental resources on which tourism itself depends,” warned the study titled Pakistan: Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Mountain Areas.

According to the study, reliable estimates on the quantity and characteristics of waste are not readily available in mountain areas, as these vary significantly depending on tourism influx, regional characteristics, and seasonal factors. Additionally, mountain areas present unique challenges such as sudden spikes in the quantity of waste generated during tourist season, widely varying waste characteristics including large volume of plastic and other special waste and constraints of land availability for waste treatment and disposal, it says.

Pakistan has a rich mountain landscape, boasting some of the highest peaks and longest glaciers in the world. The Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Himalayas are all part of the country. Melting snow and meltwater from glaciers in the mountains also feed the country’s rivers, including the Indus, which is a key resource for Pakistan’s agricultural and industrial sectors, as well as for the country’s potable water requirements.

While all settlements, whether mountainous or not, face solid waste management challenges, mountain areas tend to face additional challenges which are by virtue of their location, characterised by remoteness, topography, scattered settlements, sensitive and fragile ecosystems, lack of infrastructure and road networks, and poor institutional and financial capacity.

This makes service provision in mountain areas all the more demanding compared to the plains, suggests the study.
Mountain tourism in Pakistan is gaining importance and has the potential to be an important part of the economy in these regions, but a polluted landscape will hinder that opportunity.

Furthermore, solid waste management in the mountains can provide job opportunities through collection, segregation, and decentralised approaches. However, if not done correctly, it may have long-lasting negative impacts on the environment, human health, and the local economy, cautions the study.

The study represents the first attempt of the World Bank to examine solid waste management issues in these unique, ecologically-fragile areas that face concurrent challenges of high poverty and increasing pressures from tourism development. With funding from the Korea Green Growth Trust Fund, the World Bank had initiated the study “Supporting the Development of Sustainable Solid Waste Management Strategies for the Mountainous Regions of India, Nepal and Pakistan” with the objectives to analyze the current situation regarding solid waste management in the mountainous regions of India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2021

 

[ghazi52]

During Eid ul Azha, about 700,000 tourist vehicles flooded into the Kaghan Valley in the Mansehra area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, causing major traffic congestion.

According to police department estimates, the 700,000 automobiles that entered the valley during the Eid holidays surpassed the previous record of 500,000 vehicles set nearly five years earlier at the picturesque tourist attraction

 

[ghazi52]

THRASHING OUT THE TRASH ISSUE

Trash left over by tourists at Lake Saiful Muluk

Litter. Whether it is outside our houses on the streets or at scenic spots for tourists, it is an eyesore wherever we go. Whether it is the Deosai National Park in the mountains, the Hawkes Bay beach of Karachi or simply an ATM vestibule anywhere in Pakistan, more often than not you see the space apathetically strewn with litter, often next to empty or semi-filled dustbins — clearly there’s more to the problem than installing more bins. Littering is a habit deeply entrenched in our social mores.

In a step toward curbing environmental pollution, the Ministry of Climate Change recently announced a complete ban on plastic bags in the capital city of Islamabad to come into effect from August 14, 2019. This commendable move will play a significant role in reducing littering and its implications on health and the environment. Yet we need to take a deeper look at the problem. Why do we create so much litter and how can we mitigate the root cause?

With each passing year, as more tourists frequent the sightseeing areas of Pakistan, they leave behind atrocious amounts of trash, much of which can easily be avoided with a little effort on the visitors’ part.

Faiz Ali and his wife run a little resort in Gulmit village in Upper Hunza. “We are a small village where there is no mechanism of waste management other than what we manage ourselves,” says Faiz. He believes that visitors don’t value the sanctity of these beautiful places which is reflected by how they leave litter behind. The tourism industry needs to take up the issue more seriously and help spread awareness about keeping public spaces clean, he feels. “The tour operators who bring people are also primarily responsible for this,” he says. “Most of these tour operators are young boys who have only been here once or twice and know nothing about ecotourism.”

Litter and garbage removal and management require not only strict enforcement of the law and new regulations but also a change in our mindsets

Faiz makes sure his resort is clean and tidy. “We train tour operators to ensure that the clients are briefed about how to travel without leaving litter behind.” He himself is more environmentally aware and makes an effort to create a sustainable environment at his resort. He has a little organic garden where he grows vegetables. He carries the litter accumulated by visitors over to a flat piece of land where it is either buried or burnt. “I compost food waste which we call bukashi,” he says.

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

Pakistan I'll ask you again.
Ever heard of Park rangers??

We could also run media awareness campaigns. Or at least whatsapp awareness campaigns. Years ago on TV we used to get awareness messages about ambulances and in my 2019 visit İ finally saw people acting on it. So maybe this'll work too.

We could also make volunteer groups from local population who clean up the area effected by tourists?!

 

[Clutch]

Pakistani make the most dirty disgusting tourist... They abuse and destroy the environment. The locals should just shoot anyone on sight caught littering.

 

[ghazi52]

Participants of a walk collect garbage at Saiful Muluk Lake..