Islamabad: For Murtaza Ali, 30, losing his 6-year-old sister Kainat Fatima was like losing the entire universe – Kainat in Urdu means universe.
A resident of the isolated mountainous village of Saltoro Palit in the Ghanche district of Pakistan’s northmost Gilgit-Baltistan region, he is yet to come to terms with the loss he suffered nine years ago due to a rockslide.
“She was playing outside our home with other kids when giant boulders started tumbling down the high mountains,” he says recounting the harrowing moments.
Everyone ran for their life in panic. But little Kainat was not so lucky to make it to safety.
“She perished in the rockslide and her tragic death remains etched in my heart forever,” Murtaza says with tears just an eye-twitch away from spilling over.
A spectre haunts
Recurring rockfalls have pummelled the two neighbouring villages of Saltoro Palit and Saltoro Heldin for the last decade, leaving the tiny communities inhibiting the south-eastern stretches of the Karakorum ranges terrified.
She perished in the rockslide and her tragic death remains etched in my heart forever.” – Saltoro Palit resident Murtaza Ali
The sparsely populated hamlets are located almost 90 kilometres from Khaplu – the administrative capital of the Ghanche district – and nearly 250 kilometres from the famed Karakoram Highway that connects Pakistan and China.
Historically, the villagers have relied heavily on treacherous mountain paths to transport goods, making even basic necessities a luxury few can afford.
But most recently, a new spectre has begun haunting them—frequent rockslides.
“You feel the shiver running down your spine when the loud rumble of falling rocks wakes you up at midnight, causing everything around you to tremble in terror,” Ali says while narrating the sheer scale and unpredictability of the peril.
Loss of livelihood
Once heavily dependent on agriculture and cattle farming, the villagers now find their livelihoods and sustenance shattered as rock falls render fertile fields uncultivable and grazing lands impassable.
In these high-altitude communities, agriculture is limited to small plots of land, where traditional farming methods are still practiced.
The growing seasons are short, and the unpredictable weather further complicates the already difficult task of cultivating crops.
Murtaza Ali says “farmers here used to cultivate wheat, potatoes and other seasonal crops but the cultivable land in my village now has been destroyed”.
Another mode of subsistence has been livestock but according to Ali, sustaining livestock herds has become increasingly difficult.
“Off and on, the cattle also fall victim to falling boulders. You can’t imagine life without livestock in a mountainous area like this,” he asserts.
Uprooted communities
The phenomenon is forcing residents of the last settlements near the Line of Control (LoC) between Pakistan and India to relocate to safer places.
With around 30 homes in each village, those who could afford it have already migrated.
Left behind are the most economically underprivileged.
“Half of my villagers have already shifted to a nearby safe place and the rest of us are planning to relocate,” Murtaza Ali says.
However, relocation and adaptability costs are unaffordable for many.
“No compensation of any kind is available for the construction of homes and the people are doing it on a self-help basis”.
What’s behind the spectre?
In geologically fragile environments like this, natural disasters are nothing new. But the sharp uptick in rockfall incidents in recent years is what leaves experts scratching their heads for answers.
Dr Karamat Ali, an assistant professor of environmental sciences at the Karakorum International University (KIU), Gilgit, believes there could be multiple factors behind the phenomena in mountainous areas like these.
He argues the area in question is considered fragile geologically and heavy rainfall, developmental projects etc may easily trigger landslides or rock falls.
“Developmental projects may trigger landslide and rockfall but climate change could be another reason behind this,” he observes.
Activities like constructing channels for irrigation or roads for connectivity are among the major human activities there, according to him.
Dr Karamat says these two areas should be perceived case studies by the government and other stakeholders.
“Local communities must be prepared to respond effectively to natural disasters to minimise their impacts,” says the expert.
Official apathy
Meanwhile, the district administration of Ghanche terms these rockfalls incidents as normal or regular phenomena and not a result of climate change.
Ghanche District Deputy Commissioner (DC) Areeb Mukhtar when contacted said rockfalls or landslides in the mountainous areas are common happenings. “This phenomenon is unpredictable and stopping it through human efforts is impossible.
“Some geologists were requested to assess the real cause in these two villages but they couldn’t trace out the real cause behind it,” he added.
He said some houses in both villages are facing the threat of rockfall and some of the inhabitants have relocated.
“Roads have been built by the government for an alternate safe site where they can be relocated. Due to the unpredictable nature of the phenomena, no other option is available at the moment,” he maintained.
While responding to a query about compensation, he said the local government can provide food packages to the victims as part of its relief measures.
According to the officials, around six to seven other villages in Ghanche district are facing similar hazards.
