MURREE: Four spells of heavy snow in Murree and adjoining areas during February has damaged many roads.

About 16ft of snow has fallen so far and one more spell of snowfall is expected, according to the Met Office.

Locals say such heavy snow has fallen after 40 years.

Lawrence College Road and Cart Road were damaged due to land sliding.

A new road near Kaya Bandi was damaged due to land sliding and the continuous flow of water. Two houses were damaged in Hill Dholo due to land sliding caused by heavy snowfall.

The road between the galyat and Murree was closed at various places due to heavy snowfall. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s contractor for clearing roads has only two machines, which were sufficient up till now, but the two machines are not enough to clear the heavy snow this year, according to Raees Abbasi, a member of the district council from Seer Gharbi.

The snow has attracted a large number of tourists which has profited local traders, but many residents of rural areas have been stuck in their homes due to the snow not having been cleared from the roads.

School going children also faced problems in getting to exams in the snow.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2019