MINGORA, Feb 9: Torrential rain and snowfall have played havoc with people's lives as many mud-houses have collapsed in different areas of the Swat district and communication system has been suspended.

It was reported here on Wednesday that mud-houses in Yousufabad, Madyan and Matta sub-division have collapsed.

The houses of Abdul Wadood and Sarfraz Khan collapsed in Yousufabad on Wednesday, but inhabitants narrowly escaped. It was also reported that due to the heavy snowfall a number of families had shifted to safe places because major portions of the houses had fallen. The snowfall has also caused death of cattleheads in the upper parts of Swat.

The small valleys of Oshu, Matiltan, Glacier have been cut from the rest of the country for the last one month, and the residents have to walk for about 25 kilometres to bring items of daily use.

The continuous rains have also casued power disruption and failure of telephone system in different districts. The shortage of liquefied gas cylinders has also multiplied to the people's problems. The retailers were overcharging consumers with no check from the authorities concerned.

The shopkeepers in the streets have been selling gas at higher prices. The bazaars are giving a deserted look as most of the shops remain closed.