Estimating cautiously, five to six centuries ago the builders of Haasil village would perhaps have the scenic panorama in their mind while laying the foundation of a new hamlet at the right bank of Soan River, 48km North West of the present day Chakwal city.
They would have never thought that after a few centuries their ‘dreamland’ would become a ‘land of suffering’ for its inhabitants.
The village is located on the border with Attock.
Although former member of National Assembly (MNA) Ayaz Amir managed to get a wide road constructed for the villagers of this area, the road ends in Ranjha, a village that comes few kilometres before Haasil. From Ranjha to Haasil one has to bear a bumpy ride on a rundown and tattered patch of the road. This broken road also ends at the left bank of Soan River, which flows quietly in front of Haasil.
Having a population of more than 7,000, Haasil falls among the category of large villages of Chakwal district, yet there are only six vehicles - four passenger vans and two cars - in the whole village. This is not because majority of the villagers are too poor to afford a vehicle but because a vehicle cannot come to the village as there is no bridge over the Soan River.
“Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is busy in constructing flyovers and overhead bridges in Lahore and Rawalpindi while here in Haasil, we keep suffering,” moans a notable of the village.
First there were boats through which the villagers used to cross the river but crossing by boats in flood-like situations would be a risky business. Now a person from Swat has installed a lift which transports the villagers to either side of the river.
The villagers who own motorbikes cross the river by loading their vehicles on the lift, which carries eight passengers at a time.
“I take 10 rupees per passenger while the fare for a motorbike is 40 rupees,” says Shah Wali who operates the lift.
The four passengers vans and two cars remain parked at the bank of the river as they cannot be taken to the village.
The problem gets aggravated when the lift goes out of order. “It takes three to five days to get the problem fixed as it is very difficult for me to take the lift to a mechanic in Chakwal,” Shah Wali adds.
During those days, the villagers are left with no option but to suffer. In a state of emergency the pain faced by the villagers cannot be described in words.
“When any person needs urgent medical treatment, we have to face severe difficulty particularly during night,” says Mohammad Safdar a villager.
There is a high school for boys and a middle school for girls in the village. The boys go to the city for further studies but the girls end up sitting at home because parents cannot take the risk to send them through the lift.
“Our girls want to go to college but they are forced to sit at home after passing eighth grade examination due to the absence of a bridge,” says Safdar, a dejected father of a girl.
“Politicians only come to us during election season and also promise to construct a bridge on the river but as soon as the election fever ends they forget their promise,” says one of the villagers while queuing up to board the lift.
Lashing out at all major political players, including Sardar Ghulam Abbas (former provincial minister and two time district nazim), MNA Sardar Mumtaz Tamman and MPA Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Dullah and former MPA Fauzia Behram, the villagers said that all the politicians promised to construct a bridge but all of them did nothing in practical.
“I’m a supporter of PML-N but let me confess that our representatives have done nothing for us,” says retired Subidar Ali Akbar.
“We have no other demand except a bridge,” one of the villagers told Dawn.
The construction of a bridge would not only help ease the suffering of the inhabitants of Haasil but it would also connect Chakwal with Attock, opening new vistas of development.
When asked why he did not fulfill the prime need of the people of Haasil village during his eight year stint as District Nazim, Sardar Ghulam Abbas replied that he had a plan but unluckily it could not be executed owing to certain reasons.
“There were two options under study: first was to make a bridge on Neelah village patch of Soan River and the second on at Haasil village. But unluckily we could not execute them,” he confessed and added that had the local bodies system not been wound up, in the wake of 2008 elections, a bridge would have been constructed.
When the attention of MNA Sardar Ghulam Abbas and MPA Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Dullah was drawn to the matter, they both promised to make efforts in this regard.
“I would personally request the chief minister after budget for the funds to construct a bridge for the people of Haasil,” Sardar Mumtaz Khan Tamman vowed, while talking to Dawn.
“I’m aware of the problems being faced by the residents of Haasil. As soon as the funds are available the issue would be resolved,” said MPA Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Dullah.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2014