Ayubia’s Moto Tunnel: A tunnel made by the British in 1891.
While digging a pit for a plantation in Ayubia National Park, an old and remarkable discovery was made by the team of Malik Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to PM on Climate Change. A 129-year old British era Ayubia’s Moto Tunnel was found in a trash mound.
The old and historic Ayubia’s Moto Tunnel was built in 1891, which due to the negligence of responsible institutions was buried in a garbage dump. The historic tunnel now has been restored by the Ministry of Climate change with the help of KP’s Wild Life Protection Authority.
It is 12 kilometers long and stretches from Ayubia to Khaira Gali and it has opened for tourists almost after two decades. Moreover, there’s a water pipeline that runs through the tunnel that was probably made to solve the water problem in the nearby areas.
Malik Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to PM on Climate Change said,
“It was around 10-11 months back that our team was carrying out a plantation work in the area when they discovered this tunnel. Its opening point was buried under mounds o garbage and filth. When we saw the ‘1891’ sign top, we started looking at its history. We found it was the ‘Moto Tunnel’ built by the British. We had lost track of it due to neglect. The tunnel is a part of the longer ‘nature pipeline walk’ which runs through Ayubia National Park. Earlier the walk was of 4kms, but with the opening of the tunnel, it has been extended to 16 km.”
Source: indianexpress.com
About 20 lac has spent to revive the ancient architectural heritage piece. The tunnel is revived in its original condition and there is no tempering with its structure.
“The stonework which was original is not tempered. We have not used any new construction material. We have just removed mounds of filth and cleaned the area. Other than this, we also installed some tourist facilities such as benches, lights inside the tunnel, refurbished old stonework, and opened it for tourists.” He said.
Along with these facilities, the government is planning to install some recreational shops for the tourists. Tuck shops, coffee shops, and an information center to be established soon.
