RAWALPINDI: Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Environment Protection and Cooperatives Mohammad Basharat Raja on Friday said the district administration and police should make arrangements keeping in view the rush of tourists in Murree on New Year’s eve falling on the weekend amid snowfall in the hilly station.

On the direction of Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, a high-powered cabinet committee reviewed the arrangements made in the wake of snowfall in Murree.

Mr Raja presided over the meeting which was attended by Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Additional Chief Secretary Home retired Capt Asadullah and other officers.

It was decided in the meeting that the management committee under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner Murree will sit in the control room established in the city and take necessary decisions.

It was also decided that vehicles exceeding the decided number would be discouraged from entering Murree.

The minister said 13 facility centres had been set up in Murree which will be connected to the central control room. He said stranded tourists can contact helpline 051-9269015 and 051-9269016.

“These phone numbers can be contacted in case one gets stuck in snow or face difficulty in accommodation,” he said, adding that the number of forklifters and traffic police force had been increased in Murree.

Mr Basharat appealed to the tourists to follow the advisory issued by the government.

“Full information will be provided to tourists at the places where diversions have been arranged,” he added.

The chief secretary directed the highways department to keep the roads clear and said the district administration should conduct a continuous awareness campaign on media and keep in touch with the hotel association of Murree.

He said the tourism squad will also be deployed to support the district administration.

The additional chief secretary home told the meeting that PDMA had transferred Rs10 million to the Rawalpindi commissioner’s account so that there was no problem in emergency arrangements.

He said the district administration of Murree was comparatively new so all government departments should cooperate with it for better results.

The cabinet committee also approved the nomination of 579 price magistrates across Punjab while consideration was given to linking private CCTV cameras with the Safe Cities Authority in Lahore.

Mr Basharat said private cameras should also be used to prevent crimes.

The meeting approved the inclusion of two martyred jawans of Border Military Police Dera Ghazi Khan – Sajjad Hussain and Mohammad Tahir - in the Shuhada Fund package.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2022