MANSEHRA: Electric supply to Kohistan districts, Kaghan Valley and other parts of the Hazara division could not be fully restored on Monday as an intense cold wave gripped the region, plunging temperatures to as low as minus 12 degrees Celsius in upper parts of the region.

A college student suffocated due to burning of a coal brazier here.

Power supply to the region was suspended due to heavy snowfall three days ago, severely affecting daily life.

“Several electricity poles along the Karakoram Highway from Pattan to the Dasu were uprooted during the snowfall. Our teams are repairing and re-erecting them to restore electric supply in all the three Kohistan districts,” an official of Hazara Electric Supply Company (Hazesco) told reporters in Lower Kohistan on Monday.

Around 20 electricity poles between Pattan, the district headquarters of Lower Kohistan, and Dasu, the district headquarters of Upper Kohistan, were uprooted, while transmission lines were snapped, resulting in the suspension of power supply to Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, and Kolai-Palas districts.

On the directives of Upper Kohistan Deputy Commissioner Tariq Ali Khan, Hazesco initiated repair work two days ago, but electricity supply could not be restored as yet due to the extent of the damage.

“We have been without electricity since our district received snowfall last week,” said Abdul Hakeem, a local resident.

He said though Hazesco line staff was working to repair and rehabilitate around 20 fallen poles and damaged transmission lines, restoration work had not yet been completed.

Electric supply to the lower parts of the Kaghan, Siran, and Konsh valleys, and other high-altitude areas of the district also remained suspended.

Meanwhile, upper parts of Hazara division remain in the grip of a severe cold wave as a first-year student suffocated due to burning a coal brazier inside a room on Monday.

The deceased, Ibrahim Sultan, a first-year student, had lit a coal burner inside a room in the Lohar Banda area to keep himself warm in the intense cold. In the morning, when he and three others failed to wake up, family members broke open the door and found all four lying unconscious. They were shifted to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where doctors pronounced Ibrahim Sultan dead, while the other three were hospitalised.

In another similar incident reported two days earlier, three labourers living in a room suffocated due to fumes from an electric generator when they were asleep.

The recent spell of snowfall, which extended even to densely populated urban areas of Mansehra and other parts of the Hazara division, has pushed temperatures to their lowest levels in a decade to minus 12 degrees Celsius in some parts.

“I have not experienced such severe cold during the last 15 years,” said Mohammad Arif Rajput, a local resident.

Health experts said extreme cold had caused respiratory tract infections, particularly among children and the elderly.

“The Hazara division is under the grip of intense cold, which can cause respiratory illnesses,” said a medic, Dr Mohammad Ansar.

He advised people to take precautionary measures, including consuming boiled eggs, milk and chicken soup, and taking protein-rich diet to protect themselves from cold-related illnesses.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026