"Hunza Disaster - Gojal" Karakoram Highway: The Glaciated Mother of Every Epic Drive!

[ToofaneBatameezi]

The thread is also dedicated to the disaster that struck this beautiful valley. Please join in to collaborate in anyway you can.




Jalopnik covered the Karakoram Highways of Pakistan. So I am sharing with you all. Feels good to see them love our Country!!



For the ultimate in road trips, choose the highest paved road in the world. The Karakoram Highway is 800 miles of mountain road connecting Pakistan with China across some of the tallest mountains in the world.



Take the one towering above that perilously vertical Pakistani art truck. It’s called Nanga Parbat and it’s the ninth highest mountain in the world. Also known as the Killer Mountain, its flanks have seen the death of a mountaineer for every four who have ascended its 26,660-ft peak. The highway is named after the Karakoram, the Western reach of the Himalayas, which span the confluence of India, Pakistan and China. Home to five of the fourteen eight-thousanders, the longest glaciers outside the polar regions and a vicious conflict between India and Pakistan fought in 20,000-ft mountain passes, it’s the perfect place for an epic road.




Stretching 800 miles between Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, and Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road city in China’s Wild West, the Karakoram Highway was constructed between 1966 and 1986, claiming a life for every mile.



Leaving Islamabad to the north, the road winds its way toward Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan territory. Between the towns of Chilas and Gilgit, it passes within 15 miles of Nanga Parbat, then snakes into ever more forlorn regions of Pakistan to top out at the 15,400-ft high Khunjerab Pass.



It’s the highest point on the road and the highest paved mountain pass in the world, home to yaks, Chinese border guards and snow leopards. The road continues for another 300 miles on the Chinese side, passes more huge mountains, skates the Taklamakan Desert, then arrives in Kashgar.



As you can imagine, driving its length is not a Sunday afternoon cruise on an Upstate New York parkway. For long stretches, the Karakoram Highway is a thin ribbon of a road blasted into mountain faces, crowded with trucks, taxis, motorcycles, 4×4’s and humans. There are landslides. There are avalanches. And in hot summers, meltwater from the glaciers floods the road.



At least the Pakistanis have the sense of humor required on roads that reach into the very clouds. “RELAX – SLIDE AREA ENDS,” proclaims this sign photographed in 1995, which makes one wonder about the precise nature of the SLIDE AREA itself.



I would love to conclude with a tale of a personal crossing, but that will have to wait. Should you find yourself in Pakistan with time to kill and a Jeep in your possession, give it a shot for all us plains-bound Jalopniques—and please post your tales of landslides, avalanches and scary mountains in the comments.



The Karakoram Highway: The Glaciated Mother of Every Epic Drive - Infrastructure - Jalopnik

[lovebikes]

Thanks for sharing toofan. nice job

[saint20]

i have been to Khunjrab and kkh and skardu region for 5 times and everytime there is somthing new something amzaing about these regions and KKH itself; to be honest i dont have the words to express my feelings but all i want is to go there everytime i can go and as long as i live

[alkandar]

nice job

[Basharatu]

Your guys will be shocked to see this, this newly formed lake over KKH is approximately 10KM length and water has risen to 250ft and expected to rise more!!!





Following Details were found on the Internet:

http://pamirtimes.net/

Lahore, February 28: Over two hundred Lahore based students and professionals belonging to different parts of Gilgit – Baltistan staged a protest demonstration in front of the Lahore press club today against the failure of GB and federal government to offer quick solution to the various issues faced by calamity hit Gojal – Hunza.
The protesters carried banners and placards and chanted slogans against the government. They also burnt an effigy of the speaker of GBLA, Wazir Baig, for not being able to fulfill expectations of his voters.
The protesters also chanted slogans against the home secretary for ordering police action against peaceful demonstrators in Gilgit city. They demanded removal of the home secretary for not acting sensitively towards the distressed people of Gojal valley. The protesters also demanded an apology from the chief secretary for the police action against innocent and peaceful protesters.
Major demands of the protesters included declaration of Gojal valley as calamity hit and extension of relief operations to the region, increasing pace of work for releasing water from the disaster triggered lake buildup, complete and honorable rehabilitation of the IDPs of Attabad and Ayeenabd, seeking international help for opening the lake, and payment of compensations to the people affected by KKH expansion for supporting the disaster hit economy of Gojal valley.
A slogan written on a placard asked the chief justice to take suo-moto notice of the situation being faced by Gojal valley.

[Basharatu]

Title:
Natural Disaster in Karakoram (Hunza) and its impact on Indus Basin

Where:
National Press Club, Islamabad
When:
March 2, 2010, Time: 20 PM
By Whom:
Sungi Development Foundation, Gilgit – Baltistan Human Rights Network, Progressive Youth Front
Who can attend?
Everyone is invited

[saadtn1]

My heart cries whenever I think about the condition of Gojal these days
@ALL
Please pray for the people of Hunza, they are in deep trouble. There should be a quick solution before the start of tourism season. We can't let these people suffer!!!!

[Basharatu]

This needs lots of prayers. China has been a key contributor in helping Pakistan to build bridges over KKH, they have also accessed the situation and its looking tough for them too. Lake Size is Huge and water level has risen too much!!

Our authorities probably were not expecting this much water in the current season and they thought they have time to handle the situation. These kind of dams are dangerous as we never know when the temporary water barrier opens it gates for further disaster!

[asifcae]

sallam:

yes its very sad to c this disaster in Gojal. the land link has been lost and ppl r trapped. . i hope that all this misery goes away soon.

[baigaqeel]

Dear All,
I agree with all written above.
Dawn News did a good job 2 days back when they highlighted the situation.
We should all try our best for these beloved brothers in their hour of need.
The Govt says that it will have the path cleared by the end of this month.
Let us hope & pray to Almighty Allah that the job is accomplished.
For those who have links should try to bolster their voice loudly for this noble cause.
Aameen

[aakbar]

Originally Posted by ToofaneBatameezi

Jalopnik covered the Karakoram Highways of Pakistan. So I am sharing with you all. Feels good to see them love our Country!!
The Karakoram Highway: The Glaciated Mother of Every Epic Drive - Infrastructure - Jalopnik

Thanks for sharing Toofan. Is it possible to get high quality images of the same pics you pasted here? can u email me directly if not possible to paste here at pakwheels??? Also, share with us a few more as these appear to be quite stunning pics of my homeland.

[Basharatu]

Just received an update from the local who is running a disaster recovery campaign, the expected length of Lake is 14KM and it can rise another 90feets, if the breaks down naturally then 12 bridges (till Bisham) are in great danger.

Blasting the barrier was the solution suggested by Chinese, which will start once the lake is topped up. He also told that three turbines are on there way to the disaster location (Source Mr. Nizar Noor). Hunza Valley is reachable by road from Ghizar side (Road from Gilgit leaving for Gupis/Yasin Valleys)

[Basharatu]

[Basharatu]

HUNZA, Feb 28: Parts of a major bridge on the Hunza river on the Karakoram Highway have been submerged by an overflowing lake formed by a landslide on Jan 4.
Sources told this correspondent on Sunday that the bridge, said to be the largest on the highway, had developed cracks and was closed, cutting off Gojal valley from the rest of the country.
Experts are fearing that in the event of the bridge collapsing the land link between Pakistan and China would be snapped because an under-construction alternative bridge would take two years to complete.
The closure of the bridge has left about 3,000 people stranded in Shishkat village which has been turned into an island in the lake.
Water has submerged about 5kms of the Karakoram Highway with another 25kms under threat, the sources said.
This will adversely affect the estimated Rs3 billion annual border trade with China.
Because of the damage to the highway, transportation cost has gone up, leading to a sharp increase in prices of essential goods in the Gojal valley. The cultivation season here starts by the end of March, but lack of supply of basic farming items will have serious implications for the area where over 90 per cent of the households depend on cash crops.
The depth of the artificial lake has reached 198 feet, and a daily water inflow of 250 cusecs increases the level by 1.5 feet a day.
An official of the Frontier Works Organisation said the work to clear the boulders blocking the river was likely to be completed by April 18. He said that 60,000 cubic metres of excavation work had been carried out. But, he added that frequent rains and snowfall were hampering work.
The lake has submerged 11 houses and more than 900 kanals of land and thousands of fruit trees in Ayeenabad and Shishkat Payeen. Another 180 houses and thousands of kanals of land in Shiskat, Gulmit, Ghulkin and Hussaini villages are facing a similar threat. DAWN

[salman_ksa]

That was VERY interesting! Would love to go there.

[Basharatu]

Located in the Upper Hunza region, Gojal is geographically the largest Tehsil of the Northern Areas of Pakistan and borders the Xinjiang-Uighur region of China. The Karakorum Highway (KKH) crosses Gojal to go through the Khunjerab Pass linking Pakistan to China and other Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The population is about 20,000 and the majority speaks Wakhi language; while Burushaski and Domaski languages are also spoken in some villages. Shimshal, Chiporsun, Sust, Passu, Hussaini, Ghulkin, Morkhon, Shishkat etc are some of the main valleys of Gojal. Gulmit is the main town and seat of government while Sust is the border check-post and gateway for Pakistan-China overland trade.

[Basharatu]

[Basharatu]

[Basharatu]

January 4, 2010 by natural disaster a huge pieces of rocks hit the valley of Gojal and blocked the river and KKH road and changed it into cul-de-sac.



This is not a new phenomena, this kind of rocks disaster appeared for the last several years and will continue further. As in 1852 a horrific rocks of debris blocked the river from the right bank at the same place (Sarat). Overloading 500 meter high material in the river formed 45 kilometer long dam. And the river water inundated in the entire valley. The inundation took three years from Sarat up to Khyber village. After spilt down the flood water wiped out villages and pieces of lands. The long river way areas from Hunza down to Karachi severely affected by its flood water. People left their home valley and fled away. Today this dire devastation repeats the continuing disaster of its past.



People of Gojal sway your attention towards this horrible seen. This devastation not only swallowed life of human being in Sarat but deeply affected the entire region. As the details are here.


Total village in the entire valley existed 27.
Total population 25000
Number of houses 3500
Number of shifted houses because of inundation 14
Cutting of trees 8000
Total population severely under threat 7000
Apart from the above loss, down ward the whole region along with its property like villages, agriculture land, houses KKH road, bridges and power houses are severely under threat.

[Basharatu]

Following picture was taken on Feb 27th by Mr. Zulfikar Ali Khan (Source PamirTimes.net)