GILGIT: After it was closed for traffic in October last year following heavy snowfall, the Gilgit-Baltistan authorities are all set to reopen Babursar Pass on Monday ahead of the tourist season.

After Khyber Pakhtunkhwa allowed light traffic on the highway, the Diamer administration did not allow vehicles to ply on the road fearing more landslides and avalanches. However, tomorrow, the traffic will resume on the road after clearing the way.

It may be mentioned that the highway connecting Diamer and Mansehra via Naran remains closed for traffic from every October to June.

The journey from Diamer to Mansehra takes seven hours through the pass, while the same distance is covered in 14 hours on the Karakoram Highway.

Tourism visiting scenic spots in Gilgit-Baltistan prefer to travel through the pass to enjoy the weather as well as breath-taking sights.

Diamer Commissioner Altamash Janjua said that the road has been opened for light traffic from Mansehra a few days ago, but the authorities in Diamer did not open it amid threats of snow avalanches along the road. Meanwhile, officials concerned remained busy clearing the road by removing snow and debris.

The commissioner said that Babusar road will be opened for traffic formally from Monday and urged the motorists to drive carefully through the pass as “fear of snow avalanches was always there”.

He said earlier this week a tourist van travelling from Babusar road from the KP side faced an accident while descending from the Babusar top.

He said three tourists were injured in the incident and they are under treatment at the regional headquarters hospital in Diamer.

Meanwhile, a large number of tourists protested at zero point in Chilas after authorities refused to allow them to travel on the Babusar road.

They claimed that the road has been opened for traffic from KP but the Diamer administration was not allowing to tourists to travel from Diamer.

The administration officials held negotiations with tourists and convinced them to delay their travel plans due to safety reasons till the formal opening of the road.

In May, eleven people were killed in an avalanche near Shunter Pass in Astore.

The areas of GB and Azad Kashmir are prone to natural disasters including avalanches in which masses of snow, ice and rocks come rapidly down from mountains.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2023