The military operation against terrorists in Swat, Buner and Lower Dir brought the marble and agriculture sector business to standstill, as about 400 marble factories in the Buner district have been closed depriving the government of million in revenue earning and making thousands of workers jobless.
The oil industry and agriculture sector has also suffered loss in millions. As many as 55 petrol filling stations have been closed down and crops have been either destroyed during the operation or looted by the Taliban.
Khalil-ur-Rehman President district Buner Marble Association revealed to the Business Recorder that around 400 marble factories in the Buner district, which employed around 12,000 workers, were closed down due to the security situation.
He said that these units contribute Rs 42 million in head of utility bills; Rs 15.5 million as Central Excise Duty (CED) and Rs 40 million in head of royalty to the national exchequer every month. He said that the sector is feeling financial crunch, urging the government to come to their rescue in this hour of need. He said that marble industry owners had faced a loss of Rs 500 million up till now as workers had left the area and 3,000 mines have been occupied by Taliban. The owners of these units have to pay Rs 72 million as salaries to these workers per month.
Khalil-Ur-Rahman said that five hundred trucks each carrying excavating machinery worth Rs 8 million were still stranded in the area, saying they were left with no option but to migrate to safe areas. He said different varieties of marble is mined from the area, adding that factories in Buner were making quality tiles and sending them to Lahore, Karachi from where it was being exported to different countries.
"In the factories marble tiles and other items were prepared from Suni Gray, Suni White, Jungle Gray, Jet Black and others varieties mined in the area. He said that 2/3 of the marble Industries are located in Buner with a production capacity of 2 lakh square feet per day.
He revealed that the superior quality marble excavated from this area had been used in the expansion of Khana Kaba. He further said that Tobacco and marble industry were the main source of livelihood of the people of the area and they have been deprived of these two sources. Total area of the district Buner is 1865 Sq-Km with a total population of 0 .657 million. Agricultural land is 1, 36,880 acres, irrigated land is 37,316 acres, and rain fed land is 99,562 acres.
Almost every sector in the war-hit areas has badly been affected owing to the military-militant clashes causing huge losses worth billions of rupees, directly or indirectly. The standing crops cultivated over thousands acre of land would be spoiled in the Malakand division as the harvesting session is on its peak. The mountains of Buner District are rich in various mines and very little efforts have been made to exploit its actual potential. However, marble industry is well developed in the area.
The average annual rainfall is approximately 30-inch in the area. Buner is mostly surrounded by high hills, which are densely covered by pine and other trees. Main crops of the area are wheat, Maize and Tobacco. The production of vegetable is less but people cultivate potato, ladyfinger, pumpkins, beans, tomato, etc for local need. A few types of fruits are also grown in the area such as apricot, mulberry, fig, plum, walnut, wild-persimmon, and apples etc. Total area of 32102 hectares is covered with the forest and Buner district falls in the subtropical ecological zone with warm summer and mild winter. Generally forestry is less important sector. Locals depend on forestry to meet their requirements.
Ethnically and religiously, the whole population of Buner is homogenous. However, Hindus and Sikhs minorities are also living in the district since partition in a scattered shape. The main and common language is Pashto; however, "Ajars" and "Gujars" seasonally visiting Buner also speak Ajari and Gujari languages.
The people of Buner dress themselves in the traditional Shalwar Qameez. The people of Buner are divided into "Khel", Sub-Khels/Sub-Tribes. Generally people prefer to marry within their "Khels". Socially Buner is a male dominated area and females play negligible role in decision-making.
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