Without official patronage: Festival loses shine

CHITRAL, May 17: The government could have used the centuries old Chilim Jusht festival for promotion of tourism in the mountainous region but it ignored the event altogether, complain the local tour operators.

They said that both the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation almost ignored the festival, which could attract a large number of tourists to the area.

Rajuli Khan, a Kalash hotel owner, told Dawn that hotels of the valleys used to be overcrowded by tourists on the occasion of Chilim Jusht in the past but now the situation was totally different. “Arrival of foreign tourists depends upon the efforts of government to properly propagate such festivals in international media and inform embassies and consulates of European countries about it,” he added.

Anwar Baig, a tour operator, said most of the tourists even didn`t know about the three valleys of Kalash people and their festivals.

“They know only about Bumburate valley and hesitate to visit the other two valleys — Birir and Rumbur,” he said adding that the festival was held in the same esteem and zeal in the other two valleys as well but they failed to introduce those picnic spots of world fame.

Rahmati, a taxicab driver plying his vehicle on the route, said that government did not bother to repair the roads leading to the valleys. “The roads are in dilapidated condition after the flash floods of last year,” he added.

He said that in the past the valley roads used to be specially repaired for this occasion to facilitate tourists but now not a single boulder was removed from the roads.

STUDENTS: The students of different schools and colleges have launched a campaign for establishment of board of intermediate and secondary education in the district.

A memorandum submitted to the provincial government, bearing signatures of hundreds of boy and girl students, has demanded setting up of the board on the basis of peculiar geographic conditions and required strength of students in schools and colleges in the district.

According to the memorandum, the strength of candidates, both for matriculation and intermediate examinations, in the district cannot be less than any board in the province. There are 160 high schools, a number of colleges and 102 higher secondary schools in the district. The number of candidates appearing in matriculation and intermediate examinations in the current year was not less than 11,000 in each case.

Posted in: Chitral,Kalash