Floods can wipe out Kalash valley, say elders

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: Apart from the dangers posed by intervention of outsiders and modern education, Kalash culture is facing a physical threat from flashfloods which can wipe out a large portion of the valley in case of torrential rains, Kalash elders say here on Monday.
Kalash leaders Deomali, Faizi Khan and Basharat said Bumburate valley was vulnerable to floods which could wreak havoc any time wiping out the centuries-old Kalash culture physically.
They said the deforestation in the catchments area of the valley for the last many decades had made it prone to floods which hit different parts of the valley annually. They said that the flashflood that swamped Krakal village of the valley the other day must be taken as an eye-opener by those at the helm of affairs.
“A torrential rain of just half an hour can wipe out the whole village which is the center of the Kalash culture,” they said. The Kalash elders said although government and some NGOs were spending a lot of money for the uplift of the area yet none had paid any attention to the problem of floods in the valley.
They said 60 per cent population of the three valleys was concentrated in Bumburate which was also the richest in term of cultural heritage. They said that the other two Kalash valleys Birir and Rumbur were also facing the danger of flash floods but its intensity was higher in Bumburate valley.
They said that topography of the valley was such that the residents of the valley would find no safer place to take refuge there in case of full-scale flood.
They said that the recent floods in the valley swept away maize crops, which was a single crop of the valley. They added that damage to Kalash valleys by floods meant retardation of tourism in the district as the primitive Kalash culture was the main attraction for the tourists.
They demanded of the government to chalk out a comprehensive plan on natural resources management in the valley with the active participation of Kalash community.