Khyber PakhtunkhwaSouthern Area Development Project

Success story - PCC Village Access Road Scheme, Garha Pathar

(MCBO, Star Community – Tank)

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The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Southern Area Development Project (KP-SADP), designed through a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach, aims to support the recovery and livelihood needs of the un-served and under-served low income communities of the three crises hit districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa i.e. DI Khan, Tank and Lakki Marwat.

The Project main objective is to strengthen the capacity of the targeted communities and to improve their livelihood options by providing them opportunities and access to social and productive infrastructure through their active involvement.

District Implementation Unit, Tank of SADP has so far completed nine Village Access Roads Schemes in different villages on the district according to the need of the community following the CDD approach. All the nice schemes were successfully operational and poor deserving rural community taking maximum benefits from this facility. There is only one Village Access Road Schemes is in progress and will be completed shortly.

The KP-SADP, DIU Tank has completed 1813 ft. long Plain Cement Concrete (PCC) village access road scheme at village Gara Pathar union council Jattatar with the estimated cost of Rs.2.450 million at district Tank. The scheme was demanded by the ‘Star’ Male Community Based Organization (MCBO) and after the completion there are around 1320 beneficiaries taking benefits from this facility.

The village Gara Pathar is situated in Union Council Jattatar, 12 km away from Tank City. It has around 170 house-holds with a total population of more than 1300. Agriculture and Labouring is the main source of income for the peoples of the area. The women of the village are involved mainly in the domestic works and also perform the duty of taking care of the livestock. It is common that parents of the village used to send their children to school. The village has one Government Primary School each for boys and girls. The village is lack of any health facility and the patients mostly visit Tank city for their treatment.

The 67 year old inhabitant of the village Abdul Manan said “The construction of this road raised more hopes and expectations among us for which we were struggling since so many decades. Earlier, we faced lot of problems, specially in rainy season we carried patients on our shoulders up to the main road to take them to hospitals”. He said “there are many tribes living in this village but construction of roads and streets are the common issue and now we are very happy that government has constructed this access road through

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KP-SADP. Still adjacent streets to this road need to be constructed as it is hard to come out from houses when there is rain. The streets become so muddy and even impossible to step in the muddy water”.

Surat Khan an elder of the village carrying fodder for his animals while sharing his happiness over the construction of road said “We are grateful to government and KP-SADP for construction of this road. Before this, it was difficult for us to cross the villages especially during rains.” The 76 year old man said “we have spent our whole life in dreaming for basic facilities to this village and thanks to God after many decades our dreams came true”.

Said Khan auto-driver said “the construction of road has brought economic activity to this village as I have purchased ‘chingchi auto rickshaw’ and plying from our village to main road and sometimes up to the main city Tank”. He said “this all-weather road connected our village to the main city and now people can easily go to city”. The young Said Khan “now I have my own source of income and I earn handsome income not only for me but also for my family”.

“More people can visit the hospital for treatment because the village road is now constructed and people have safe road that can be used in all-weather conditions mean that people who once suffered at home, or died in transit, can now reach to medical care” this was said by Chairperson of CBO Star Community Attaullah. He said "after the construction of this village road pregnant women prefer to visit the city hospital now for the delivery of babies which has reduced the maternal and infant mortality rates in the village."

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Abdur Rasheed General Secretary of the organization while expressing his views on the construction of village access road said “poor road connectivity has been a main underlying cause of poverty impeding economic growth of rural areas. Earlier, inhabitants of this deprived village faced lot of difficulties while carrying patients to the hospital in this city where number of people died on the way to hospital as they were late to reach the healthcare center due to non-availability of road and transport.”

Muhammad Rizwan, a student of class four in Government Primary School for Boys Gara Pathar said with a smile on his face “I am very happy now as we students can go to school in all-weather after the construction of village road. Earlier in rainy weather it was almost impossible for us to step out from our houses because of muddy water outside in the streets and roads. We were used to remain absent from school in rainy season but now we reach regularly to school in clean uniform.”

Ghulam Shabir a local resident said "The construction of road has connected rural communities to markets, district headquarters, and other centers of economic activity leading to overall socioeconomic development of this area". While describing the village life he said “lived in rural areas that, for the most part, did not have all-weather roads. Many relied on earth tracks, unsuitable for motorized traffic and impassable during the rainy season. But, now we got a road and lives become much easier to us.”

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“During last 50 year, first time such type of developmental activity took place in this village. It was really very hard for us in rainy season even go to mosque to offer prayers.” This was said by Razi Khan 58 local farmer. He said "Due to faster access to the market, I can get a better price for my crops. Now, with frequent trips, I can feel the pulse of the market and sell my goods only if I get a good price."

The construction of new roads and pavement of streets enabled people, particularly laborers to find jobs, commute to work and schools, and go to healthcare centers more quickly and safely. It also encouraged farmers to grow higher-value crops, and enabled them to transport their produce faster to the market, keeping it fresh and in good condition. The roads connected the far flung areas with cities and after the completion of roads, the distance traveled to work by people in the area increased but the time it took for them to get to work was reduced. This positive effect was confirmed by the increased use of public transportation. The use of public transport like pick-up and auto-rickshaw (ching-chi) increased to carry people of villages to the city for different purposes.

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