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| Floods in Swat |
After the flood situation in Pakistan due to unusual rainfall, severe flooding was also witnessed in the Swat river on Thursday which destroyed the riverside buildings in Kalam, Bahrain and Madin areas.
In social media videos, especially the scenes of the destruction of a hotel in Kalam, which is called Hotel Honeymoon, have become the focus of attention and discussion.
The most important question raised in this debate was whether there are any laws that do not take into account the flood situation when constructing buildings on the banks of the river.
A few social media users also questioned why buildings were allowed in the same area in the potential waterway of the river despite a similar disaster in the area in 2010.
Importantly, Hotel Honeymoon was destroyed in 2010 as well.
In this regard, the BBC published a special report in 2012 in which an attempt was made to find answers to these questions.
This report is being reproduced for the interest of readers:
After the devastating floods in Swat in 2010, people resumed residential and commercial construction along the banks of the Swat River, but due to lack of awareness of architecture and related laws, houses and business centers were settled as per their wish. have started doing.
Zarmutullah Khan Shinwari built a new hotel named 'New Honeymoon' on the banks of the river in Kalam. Earlier, his 100-room hotel was destroyed in the 2010 floods, due to which he had to bear a loss of Rs 20 crore.
Speaking to The Time News Today's Raheel Khan, he said that the government neither stopped them from building hotels on the banks of the river nor taught them any methods of dealing with natural disasters.
He further said that the business of the hotels located on the banks of the river is high and that is why they have again built a new hotel on the banks of the river despite the risk of flooding.
Kamran Rehman, deputy coordinator officer of Swat district, told The Time News Today's Raheel Khan regarding stopping construction on the banks of the river, "People are settling on private lands on the banks of the river." We have requested the provincial government to demarcate the boundaries of the Swat river or impose a ban on construction encroachment under the legislation.
On the other hand, Jafar Shah, the elected member of the provincial assembly from Kalam, said that the limits of the river are known and there are relevant laws under which any kind of construction on the banks of the river can be stopped.
He said that there is a regular law for this and the tehsil municipal administration also has guidelines under which they should inform the people about how far they can build from the river. According to the law, there cannot be a population within 200 feet of the river bank.
He emphasized that it is the responsibility of the tehsil municipal administration and it should implement these laws.
Shaukat Ali Sharar, an architect from Mingora, said that there are many laws but the main problem is their implementation. He said that the 'River Protection Act Swat' is applicable here, under which it is illegal to construct any building within 200 feet of the river bank, but this law is still not being implemented.
Giving details, he said that apart from this, under the 'Local Government Ordinance', Tehsil Municipal Administration has the responsibility to monitor land use planning and all construction works in accordance with the law. He said that according to the laws of prevention of natural disasters, it is illegal to construct any kind of building in areas where the risk of natural disasters is high.
Shaukat Ali added regarding land ownership and land use and the role of government institutions that 'Both our government and our people do not differentiate between land ownership and land use, owning land and owning it are different. The thing is, ownership is the owner's right, but how the land is used, there should be enforcement, enforcement and intervention of the government. Unfortunately, this is not happening because the government institutions do not have the capacity and the people do not want it, and thus we are again creating reasons for destruction.
In 2010, the population along the banks of the Swat River was severely affected by the floods. According to the experts, reconstruction on the banks of the river can be more dangerous in case of natural disasters, but looking at the current situation, it is estimated that the relevant institutions of the district and provincial government are still reluctant to stop the constructions on the banks of the Swat River. are
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