RAWALPINDI: Commissioner Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah on Saturday said the administration would clear all choked points in Murree and adjoining areas by removing snow to normalise traffic on Sunday (today).

Talking to Dawn, he said the tragedy in which 22 people lost their lives occurred on roads toward the Galliyat. However, the road between Murree and Islamabad was opened.

Some points, especially towards the Galliyat, received heavy snowfall which would be cleared soon. He said at present tourists in Murree have taken shelter in hotels and guest houses and the government has also opened its rest houses for them.

The administration stopped entry of more tourists in Murree on Friday afternoon after reports of rush in the hilly resort. 

Mr Shah said mostly people reached Murree unprepared just to see the snowfall for a few hours but stranded in the heavy snowfall there. He said Pakistan Army, Civil Defence, the highway department and district administration and police officials, civil society volunteers and Rescue 1122 were engaged in rescue operations at various locations.

Moreover, the district administration sent 1,000 food packets for tourists stranded in the calamity-hit area. The commissioner said PDMA had arranged 400 blankets along with medicines while the administration sent 1,000 food hampers, 200 dried fruit bags and 400 bags of cooked food.

“The supply of warm clothes is also continuing. At present, the first priority is to help the tourists and ensure their evacuation to a safer place. In this regard, the district administration has also launched a shuttle service,” he said.

The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) shuttle service was operating 10 buses to bring the tourists stranded in Murree to Bhara Kahu,” Additional Commissioner (Coordination) Saif Anwar Jappa told Dawn.

He said the shuttle service was running from Lower Topa to Bhara Kahu and had brought back a large number of tourists. He said RTA Secretary Rashid Ali was supervising the service which would continue till all the tourists were brought back.

He said the helicopter of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was also available for the ongoing rescue operation. However, more snowfall had been predicted in Murree and adjoining areas so it was not possible to use the helicopter.

He said the chief minister had reached Islamabad and was monitoring the rescue and relief operations. The other districts of Rawalpindi division have also been asked to help the local administration.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2022