It was my first ever experience
to travel from Skardu to Gilgit when I received a call from Karakoram
International University Gilgit for joining. It was an urgent call so I had to
leave for Gilgit the very next day. I talked to different taxi drivers but all
of them were reluctant to go with me pretending that the road is in a very
pathetic condition.
However, I booked a ticket through a transport company and left to Gilgit. When
we reached at Ayub Bridge, there was an irksome rush of vehicles on both the
sides waiting for their turn to cross the bridge. I got off the van and went
into the nearby police hut for Zohr Prayer. After prayer I came out of the hut
and stood at the bridge corner and heard hilarious noises of the half broken
woods on the bridge when heavy vehicles were vehemently crossing the bridge.
It was our turn to cross the bridge after an hour. I suddenly closed my eyes
when the van was moving to cross the bridge as I felt the bridge gave us a
warning. The bridge cried like an old man of one hundred years old. At last, our
van safely could cross the bridge with the opening of my eyes.
The van jumping like baby’s hanging box moved towards it destination. I started
whispering all the verses from the Holy Quran to seek mercy from Almighty Allah
for a safe journey. My eyes were quivering as the Indus river was looking at me
to embrace. The rising tides and the heavily flowing water in the Indus river
reminded the recent and past accidents which had killed many people traveling
from Skardu to Rawalpindi and Gilgit.
A man smiled at me and wanted to talk to me when he saw my pale face. He
communicated with me using his body language and didn’t speak even a single
word. He said that he had witnessed many accidents on that road. A truck loaded
with fruit and vegetable fell into the Indus river unloading half of the truck
at the road corner. A car with four passengers, all from a same family fell
dived into the river for good. A van and a coaster collided somewhere near
Shingus valley which resulted many casualties.
Suddenly, I felt the passengers in the van were whispering (There is no God but
Allah) when they saw a sudden land sliding on the road. The van driver reversed
the van to escape from any accident. I was also shock to see hundreds of rocks
falling from the mountain. At last, Allah helped us to cross the ever dangerous
land sliding area.
When I looked upon the person whom I was talking, I felt he was still whispering
spiritual verses to safeguard from any possible incidents. I wanted to know his
name so I asked him what his name was but he could not speak and told me using
the same gestures that he was a special person who could neither speak nor
listen.
We had to walk like gypsies due to the pathetic condition of the road which
seemed very brutal to take lives of the travelers. After traveling eight hours,
we reached at Alam Bridge near KKH. We found the same rush that we had tackled
at Ayub Bridge near Kachura Skardu. I felt like an air-travel when our van
started running on KKH. Soon, we reached in Gilgit city having a peaceful travel
at KKH for only forty minutes from Alam Bridge. Although, travel from Skardu to
Gilgit would take four to five hours if the road is macadamized like KKH
decreasing casualties to the minimum.
I felt Gilgit city like a developed and modern place where there were automatic
and modern vehicles, western style buildings, air style routes in every street.
I visited Hunza Nagar with ease and comfort accompanied by my cousins, Arif and
Zulfiqar and a friend Anwar. Anwar had got a very comfortable car, we left
Gilgit city to Hunza valley on the third day. The tunnels on the way towards
Hunza were really awesome and smooth that even a layman can also drive smoothly
by following the speed meter. If China digs a tunnel from Hunza to Shigar valley
in Baltistan then it would be a life changing moment for the people of
Gilgit-Baltistan as both the Gilgit and Baltistani people have mutual,
religious, cultural, economic, geographical and social relations that would be
developed and would make a rapid progress but this just a fragile expression of
my dreams. The beloved country can also make progress if the route systems both
air and road are linked together and connected to every corner of the country.
There are never melting glaciers both in Gilgit and Baltistan that would offer
never ending benefits to the country in electric power generation and many other
arenas of instantaneous progress.
We had a very delicious dinning at a beautiful spring where there was a hotel on
the right bank of the road. We gave them mutton to cook at dinner when we came
back from Atabadad lake and other areas, the dinner with delicious mutton was
ready so we enjoyed in a very cool and breezing milieu. For a moment I forgot
all the worries and tensions of the travel from Skardu to Gilgit, later I
couldn’t ignore the journey back to Skardu. I couldn’t enjoy the narrow but
mind-blowing scenes in Hunza Nagar where nature dwells and dances in the
mountains, fountains, rivers, glaciers, and serene valleys.
On the fourth day, I started my journey back to Skardu traveling on the very
dangerous route of the year Skardu Gilgit road. I closed my eyes and whispered
the Holy verses praying to protect us from any upcoming incidents as I was going
to join KIU Skardu. Otherwise, it would be my journey towards the everlasting
place. Thanks to Allah, we tranquilly came back to Skardu going through a
crawling travel. The stunning and enthralling views of Skardu refreshed my mind
and opened my eyes. The vast and tremendous landscape in Skardu where nature
resides in every corner with peace making and loving people.
If the government doesn’t construct or repair the GS road, the future tourists,
and local travelers will have to crawl on the road like typical gypsies, staying
unnecessarily at every pitiful ventures.