MANSEHRA: The Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road was reopened on Monday after almost five months as the National Highway Authority cleared it of snow.

The tourists welcomed the development, saying it will give them an access to the snow-covered Saiful Muluk Lake.

Tourist leader Fahad Afzal told reporters that the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road was closed to traffic in Dec last year following the heavy snowfall in the Kaghan valley and it had been reopened after the clearing of snow.

He said the adventurists had begun reaching the Saiful Muluk Lake by crossing the ice mass though hoteliers had yet to reopen the bumpy lake road for four-wheelers.

The tourist leader said his team covered eight kilometers in almost five hours to reach the snow-clad Saiful Muluk Lake. He said after the clearing of the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, he along with over a dozen adventurists left for the picturesque Kaghan valley. “We are fascinated by the beauty of Kaghan valley,” he said.

Mr Afzal said it was really risky to take the lake road, which led from Naran to the Saiful Muluk Lake, and therefore, the government should repair or rebuild it to attract tourists. The tourists said the MNJ Road had been reopened up to Naran but the traffic between Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to be suspended for five months.

SCHOOLGIRL DIES: A minor girl lost life after falling into a manhole in her school in Ghanool area of Balakot tehsil here on Monday morning.

First grader Leeza Bibi died of critical injuries.

She was alone when the incident occurred at the Government Primary School for Girls.

Balakot SHO Javed Khan told reporters that the police pulled the body out of the manhole and shifted it to the civil hospital, where the doctors fulfilled medicolegal formalities before handing it over to the girl’s family.

He said the police had launched an inquiry to ascertain the exact reason for the incident.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2018