PoGB: Locals of Tandal Valley struggle for survival amid poor road infrastructure, medical services

Skardu [PoGB], July 9 (ANI): The Tandal Valley of Skardu district in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) has been blessed with luscious green landscapes, but the area continues to suffer from issues related to accessibility and infrastructure, a local news outlet Skardu TV reported.
The valley, situated on the outskirts of Skardu, one of the main cities of PoGB, has roads that have been rendered useless because of a lack of maintenance by the local administration.
This has adversely impacted income opportunities as this place is no longer a tourist attraction it used to be in the past. Additionally, the area also remains deprived of educational and medical infrastructure.
Inaayat, a local businessman from the valley who had a hotel, said in the Skardu TV report that the area lacks road infrastructure and essential medical facilities.
"The road infrastructure is the biggest problem in our town. And the second largest problem is the absence of essential medical facilities in the local area. The two major roads near our valley, which connect us to the highway, are also useless. We have requested our local representatives and they have conducted several visits but have not taken any significant action to solve our problems of education or roads," he stated.
Raising the issue of lack of medical infrastructure, Inaayat mentioned, "We generally have to pay at least PKR 5,000 if we want to send a patient for urgent medical attention. And sometimes it is a matter of life and death. Most of our local populous comprises daily wage labourers and it is very difficult for them to bear such heavy expenses."
A previous report by Skardu TV had also highlighted the situation in Chunda village of Skardu district, where people continue to face difficulties due to a lack of infrastructure.
The locals struggle to arrange their basic amenities, as everything in this village has to be brought from cities. Due to the deteriorated condition of the roads leading to the village, transportation is a big problem for the people and has become a matter of life and death for them.
Haji Nazaf Ali, a local from Chunda village, said in that report, "The biggest concern for us is the critical condition of the roads. As the things here need to be brought from cities all year long. The transporters don't come to our village or demand high charges because of poor roads. And things get worse during the snowfall of the winter season. And our political representatives continuously give us false promises and afterwards, they forget our issues."
He further lamented the lack of education facilities in the village and also described the difficulties faced by people in situations of medical emergencies.
Pointing to the deteriorating condition of the infrastructure including schools and crumbling medical facilities, Ali mentioned, "Nothing except the small school building was built by the government in this village, and today that school building is also too old. Everything that you see here was built by us, with our efforts. The only people who had supported us belonged to several NGOs that had organised several things for us."
"Having no medical facilities here is the worst for us in case of medical emergencies. We sometimes need to rush our people during serious cases like when pregnant women are about to deliver the child and other matters of medical emergencies," he added in the Skardu TV report. (ANI)