Floods in Swat: Vertical cliffs, 20kg food bag on waist and 35km perilous journey

 Floods in Swat: Vertical cliffs, 20kg food bag on waist and 35km perilous journey

Imagine that you are a mountaineer and you have to carry 15 or 20 kg of weight on your back to cover a distance of 35 km. And not only that, but if there are vertical rocks on the way that cannot be crossed, what will you do?

You may change your mind thinking that doing so would be tantamount to suicide. But if you know that even if you don't do it, there is death, then the problem may get worse.

But hundreds of mountain dwellers in Swat are doing it every day. They should not climb a mountain and make any kind of history, they should not wear any award or medal on their chest, but they would spend a few days in remote villages suffering from merciless rains and flooded rivers for their children. Food is to be arranged.

A slight mistake, a small mistake, a wrong step can lead them to death. His steps may have wobbled but his determination never wavered and the more times you look at these pictures, the more unwavering his determination seems.

And this commitment is to deliver at least two meals of bread and essential items to children, elderly and women sitting at home.

"One wrong step can lead to death"

Akmal is now on a mission to supply food and medicine to remote areas of flood-hit Swat. They collect goods from Islamabad and then deliver these goods to the needy through a network in Swat, which is now quite large. But they also never thought about such a scene that they saw during the food supply.

He says that the route between Kalam and Bahrain is about 35 km. Along this route from Mankyal to Laikot, the road is broken at various places and the river cuts it like vertical walls, forcing people to come through difficult paths and mountains.

"First walking 35 kilometers to Bahrain to the place where the aid is being given and then carrying about 20 or 30 kilograms back the same distance on foot and the heights of the mountains. While they are walking on the mountains, one wrong step can lead them to their death.

"It's just like acrobats walk on a tightrope and there's no safety belt. Just drop and die. Visitors from Kalam Mittaltan have to descend a route of at least four kilometers and then climb up carrying bags of food, which is almost like a vertical wall. When they are going back with food, they do not know whether they will return safely or not.

"But what they carry on their shoulders and back is actually the life of their children and for that those men don't care about their own lives," Akmal pauses in an emotional manner.

He has been conducting relief work for victims in Swat since August 25. They have set up a medical camp in Swat and have reached there with medicines and other supplies. Some philanthropists have sent food items along with their belongings. They stop at various places on the way and distribute goods to the needy people. Often their teams already identify what is needed where and how much.

At this time, we are going to deliver goods to those areas of Tehsil Bahrain of Swat district, which have been cut off from the main roads. In these remote areas, one has to travel for seven to eight hours on foot.

Mainly two tehsils have been badly affected in the floods of Swat. Among them, one Tehsil is Matta and the other Tehsil is Bahrain. Among the villages of Tehsil Matta, the same road also leads to Pechar. If we travel from Islamabad or Mangalore, it starts after 20 km on the left side of the river. It is a mountainous area and its roads are very difficult. There are small villages. The total population of both Tehsil Matta and Bahrain is more than five lakh.

"When the people came down, they realized the disaster."

Due to the flood, the communication roads in these areas have been completely destroyed and therefore these areas are completely cut off from other areas.

Akmal says that in the beginning, people could not leave their homes there because there was a lot of flooding in the rivers and bridges in these areas. Later when these people came down, they realized the disaster. This disaster was not the collapse of a hotel in the city of Kalam, but this disaster has happened in most of Swat, but also in all the tehsils.

Due to the destruction of bridges and the disconnection of roads, people are trapped in their respective areas. According to the volunteers, there has been a huge shortage of food and medicine.