Buleda, a tehsil in the district of Kech, has long remained underdeveloped. Located 86.2 km away from Turbat, the second-largest city in Balochistan, this small area gained inexplicable importance as one of the largest trading border tehsils of district Kech. Buleda shares its border with Iran to the west, facilitating the export of Iranian oil.
While the locals of Buleda benefit from the trade of Iranian oil, people from neighboring districts such as Awaran, Panjgur, and Lasbella also engage in this lucrative business. Unfortunately, this trade has attracted the attention of corrupt administrations and puppet political leaders, leading to controversial years.
Like other underdeveloped regions in Balochistan, the residents of Buleda demand basic facilities, such as electricity, improved healthcare, and better educational opportunities. However, the lack of roads remains a significant obstacle to progress.
As evident, roads are the lifelines of an economy, connecting producers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools, and the sick to hospitals. Therefore, the construction of the 32-km long Turbat-Buleda highway stands as the most crucial and urgent demand of the locals. Regrettably, despite being promised on multiple occasions, this road remains a distant dream, with unimplemented pledges piling up over the past 35 years.
Surprisingly, the construction of the Buleda to Turbat road has been included in several development schemes and projects funded by both provincial and federal governments. In 2019, the provincial finance minister, Zahoor Buledai, assured that the road would be completed by June 2019. It was revealed that the 19-km highway would cost 1.32 billion rupees, and the provincial cabinet had already approved 500 million rupees for the project. Mr Zahoor Buledi held the position of finance minister in 2018 and 2019 and also served as the GDA minister in 2008.
The former commissioner of Makuran, Tariq Zehri, stated that in 2020, the project received 600 million rupees from the allocated development budget for the immediate construction of the Buleda to Turbat road. Despite these assurances and funds, the construction of the road remains a myth.
In May 2021, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved 2.995 billion rupees for the construction of a 60 km road from Buleda to Proom, a critical link connecting border areas of Buleda (District Kech) to Proom (District Panjgur).
Moreover, the absence of local roads in Buleda, the open selling of drugs by the elite class mafia, rampant incidents of robbery, and non-functional schools and hospitals epitomize the absolute monarchy and despotism of the Buledai family. The family wields great power, largely due to the lack of a strong opposition, as naive locals continue to support an already failed and expired experiment.
Buleda has endured 35 years of despotism, leaving the region underdeveloped and its people struggling for basic facilities and progress. The long-awaited construction of essential roads and the eradication of corruption remain crucial steps in uplifting this neglected area.
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