GILGIT: The Babusar road, the famous tourist destination, was reopened for light traffic on Monday after remaining closed for seven months.

Heavy snowfall in the area triggered the closure of the road.

After removing snow at Babusar top and nearby areas the Babusar road was reopened for light traffic on Monday, Diamer deputy commissioner Fayyaz Ahmed said.

He said the movement of vehicles on Babusar road from KP and GB sides has been allowed from 5am to 5pm every day till Eidul Azha.

Because of threats of heavy melting of snow at daytime and freezing at night the traffic movement has been allowed only in daytime, the deputy commissioner said.

He further said that new travel hours on the road will be announced after Eidul Azha.

The commuters have been advised to strictly follow the travel advisory of Met department.

According to the advisory, travellers and tourists have been requested to plan their trips for Babusar road after checking advisories/alerts of Met department.

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

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2024