ISLAMABAD, March 15: The unannounced reduction in the number of PIA flights from Peshawar to Chitral this winter has multiplied the hardships of passengers as land route to the district is closed due to snow on the Lowari Pass.

From December to May when the over 10,000-foot-high pass linking the valley with the rest of the country remains closed, the Fokker flights become the only source of travelling for the people of the area.

During the closure of the land route in the past, the PIA used to operate at least three flights daily. However, this year two daily flights have been operated.

Normally staff at the main PIA office in Peshawar issue tickets for the second flight but mostly the flight is cancelled at the eleventh hour, creating inconvenience for the passengers.

Although the people of Chitral have been allowed to use the Kunar-Nawa pass route after Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to the request of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali during his visit to Kabul in January, women and the sick are still facing hardships as they cannot venture to travel for 15 hours on the bumpy road through the lawless country.

Chitrali passengers at the Peshawar airport alleged that they faced an uphill task in reserving seats as staff at the PIA office black marketed and allotted tickets on personal connections.

They criticized the provincial and federal governments for ignoring the communication problems of the district. They said their area remained cut off from the country in winter and instead of increasing flights to the area the government had reduced the number and shifted a Fokker plane to a new route introduced on political grounds.

They said the governments in the past had been making special arrangements to lessen the hardships of the passengers in winter. A helicopter service was introduced a few years ago between Dir and Chitral to ferry the stranded people when the Fokker could not operate due to inclement weather.

However, the service was later abandoned. The people demanded that the government should restore three PIA flights and also operate C-130 planes to the district.