CHITRAL: A fresh spell of snow hit the upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday night which continued on Sunday, while rain lashed the plains. The heavy snow blocked several roads in the mountainous regions.

Chitral continued to receive snowfall on Sunday, which started on Saturday, resulting in closure of roads in Bumburate, Birir, Rumbur, Garam Chashma, Karimabad, Arkari, Torkhow, Laspur and Yarkhun.

Life came to a standstill in Chitral city as the people confined themselves to their homes and the markets wore a deserted look, while a very small number of vehicles were seen on the roads covered with snow.

Snowfall blocks roads in mountainous regions

The local people said it was a rare occasion after many decades that the entire valley stretching about 400 kilometers from Arandu in the south to Baroghil in the north was receiving snow simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the executive engineer of communication and works department, Chitral, Maqbul-i-Azam, told mediapersons on Sunday that the roads passing through the hills would only be reopened to vehicular traffic once the snowfall stopped.

He said the sub-divisional officers of all the three C&W subdivisions of Booni, Chitral and Drosh had been put on high alert along with their field staff and road machinery so they could be mobilised to the spot readily and duration of closure of roads could be minimised.

He said keeping in view the anticipated snowfall in the valley, the residents of the remote valleys had been advised not to travel during these days. He said roads of Garam Chashma and Bumburate had been declared highly risky.

In Abbottabad district, Galyat received light snow as tourists thronged scenic resorts to enjoy the snowfall, forcing the Galyat Development Authority to clear the roads of snow.

Ahsan Hameed, media manager of GDA, told mediapersons on Sunday that the tourists should avoid travel during the night. He said all the main roads had been cleared of snow as only four to six inches of snow was recorded in Donga Gali, Changla Gali, Nathtiagali, Ayubia, Bara Gali and Thandiyani.

In Mansehra, the current spell of rains and snowfall continued on second day on Sunday, bringing mercury to below freezing point.

Mansehra, Torghar, Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts remained in severe grip of cold.

The roads in upper parts of Hazara, which were blocked because of landslides triggered by rains, couldn’t be reopened to traffic as yet causing hardships to locals.

In Shangla, snowfall in upper parts continued for the second day, blocking roads.

Shangla Top, Yakhtangay, Alpuri, Lelonai, Ajmeera, Damorai, Kandaw and other areas received snow, while Bisham city received rain overnight and on Sunday. Power supply was suspended in most parts of the district.

According to Met office, about two feet of snow was received in upper parts.

In Battagram district, the upper parts received snowfall, blocking roads. All the roads in Allai tehsil were blocked due to snowfall.

People also complained about electricity supply suspension in Allai tehsil for last two days.

In Swat district, fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains and rain in the plains dropped the mercury to minus 6 in Kalam, Utror, Gabral, Ushu, Matiltan, Malam Jabba and other hilly parts.

According to Met office the snowfall and rain would continue till next Friday.

The snowfall in the mountainous regions blocked the link roads.

In Lower Dir district, mountainous regions were blanketed by snowfall on Sunday with temperatures dropping to freezing point.

The Laram valley, Barchari and Bin Shahi mountains received heavy snowfall overnight, which continued on Sunday.

In Upper Dir, a cold wave gripped the district after the mountains received snow during the past two days.

The scenic Kumrat, Doog Darra, Hattan Darra, Barawal and Dobando were covered by snow on Sunday, forcing the people to stay indoors.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2019