MANSEHRA: Manoor, a picturesque valley in Balakot tehsil, lacks facilities like electricity, roads, health centres and schools.

An uncarpeted, bumpy and dilapidated road leads to the valley situated around 8,500 feet above the sea level from the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road near Mahandri.

Most people, including tourists, go there from the MNJ Road by foot instead of using jeep due to the bad condition of the road.

The valley spread over 14 kilometers has 14 villages and is inhabited by over 30,000 people but lacks basic facilities.

There are nine primary schools in the valley but only two of them are for girls. Also, the valley has two middle schools and one high school for boys but there is none for girls.

The people use donkey and pony to shift goods and food from the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road to the valley.

The valley has no health care facility since the destruction of the sole basic health unit in the 2005 earthquake.

“We live in the Stone Age as there is no road and health infrastructure in the valley. We take patients to hospitals by carrying them on shoulders and sometimes, patients die on the way,” said Ghulam Deen, a resident of Beyari area.

He said in the absence of a proper road, most tourists didn’t know about the scenic Manoor valley and went to the nearby Kaghan valley.

The resident said over 90 per cent of electricity was produced in the region by turbines installed on streams, while the rest was supplied by the government.

Roshan Khan, a resident of Sarri area, said the suspension bridge installed over the Kunhar River linked the valley with other parts of Balakot but that was washed away by the 2014 flash floods.

He said since the bridge had yet to be reinstalled, the valley had no link with the MNJ Road.

Local resident Mohammad Fiaz said neither the government nor their elected members paid heed to the people’s problems.

“We have not educational infrastructure for girls. Also, the two wooden bridges swept away by the flash floods await reconstruction,” he said.

Niar Shahzada, a frequent visitor to valley, said both the federal and provincial governments ignored the valley’s development.

He said the government could generate huge revenue by developing the valley into a proper tourist resort.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2016