Inclement weather disrupts life in mountainous KP districts

Snowfall blocks roads in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Dir and Shangla

PESHAWAR: The rain and snowfall turned weather colder in plain areas and disrupted life in mountainous areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Weather remained partly cloudy and cold in the provincial capital on Thursday.In other plain areas of the province too, the weather has turned colder with recent rain and snowfall.Snowfall has damaged communications infrastructure in some areas and created problems for people.

AABBOTTABAD: Several roads, including Abbottabad-Murree route were blocked as snowfall started in Nathiagali, Ayubia, Thandiani and even Abbottabad city Wednesday night and continued till Thursday evening. Most of the electricity lines were broken, leading to blackout in Abbottabad and its surroundings.

Thandiani, Nathiagali, Baragali, Ayubia, Bakote and other parts of the district received heaviest snowfall of the current winter season.Many tourists and locals thronged Shamla Hill and Lady Garden Park to enjoy the snowfall. More than eight-inch snow has so far been reported in the city.

On the other hand, traffic remained jammed on Karakoram Highway for hours between Havelian and Abbottabad as most of people opted to travel five to six kilometres road on foot and parked their vehicles on roadsides.

The slippery road damaged a number of vehicles. However, no casualty has been reported. Several trees also fell due to heavy snowfall.District Police Officer Sher Akbar Khan told The News that the police had been alerted to help the travellers and traffic police had started clearing the traffic mess on the route. Abbottabad-Murree road was completely blocked for all sorts of traffic from Bagnother onwards while Abbottabad-Thandiyani road was also closed at Kala Pani.

Inner roads in the entire Galiyat were blocked due to landsliding and snowfall.According to a spokesman of Galiyat Development Authority, more than five feet snow has fallen so far and more has been forecast during the next 24 hours.

They advised the tourists not to travel on Abbottabad-Murree road as GDA staff has been engaged to clear the route. A number of tourists have also got stuck in Galiyat.Upper hilly areas of Galiyat, including Thandiyani and Changla Gali, were cut off from the rest of the district as all communications system was damaged.

Many families were seen enjoying the snowfall that also resulted in an increase in sales of fish as famous sellers of the commodity in the area were seen dealing with customers.

MANSEHRA: Heavy snowfall lashed Mansehra as the district government announced emergency to cope with any untoward situation.

The snowfall, which started in early hours, continued late Thursday evening, turning the weather chillier in Mansehra city and other parts of the district. An elderly resident of the area said: “I have never seen such a heavy snowfall in my 60 years of life.”

He said though he had witnessed heavy snowfall for weeks in the past, the snow balls this time are bigger.The snowfall also disrupted electricity supply to Mansehra and other parts of the district. The Karakoram Highway and Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road were also blocked owing to heavy snowfall and landsliding.

The snowfall led to blockade of link roads in Kaghan valley, Siren valley, Konsh in Mansehra and Allai and Kandia valley in Kohistan. Main business centres and shops remained closed on Thursday.

Several people sustained minor injuries when their vehicles got slipped on slippery roads. District Nazim Said Ghulam told reporters that more than 30 roads, including KKH and Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road, were blocked and machinery was moved to reopen the routes. He said electricity supply would be restored once snowfall stopped.

“We have put all departments concerned on alert to cope with any unpleasant situation in the district arising out of the heaviest snowfall of the decade,” he said.

SHANGLA: Snowfall in Shangla district led to blockade of various roads including Shangla Top.The Alpuri-Puran road was blocked due to heavy snowfall at Shangla Top while Chakser-Karora and Shahpur-Olandar routes were also closed.

The administration had also banned travel on Shangla-Swat road without having a chain with the vehicles. Power supply to several areas remained suspended for the last 24 hours.

SWAT: The main town of Swat district, Mingora, received mild snowfall while the business centres in upper parts remained closed for the second day. More than three feet snowfall was recorded in upper parts of the district.

DIR: Severe snowfall made life miserable in several areas including Dir town where electricity could not be restored even after 27 hours as the link roads remained closed to traffic.Mountainous areas of the district including Lowari Top, Kumrat, Thal, Shahi, Usheri Dara and other areas received up to three to four feet of snowfall. The plain areas, including Dir town,  Qulandi, Panakot, Qashqari, Usheri Darra and others received one to two feet of snowfall.

Main road leading to Kohistan valley was closed to traffic from Patrak area as the Lowari Top road could not be cleared.

HARIPUR: Surrounding villages of Haripur city also received first snowfall of the winter season. Light rain and snowfall lashed most of the mountainous areas of the district, resulting in fall of temperature. Baldhair, Jabri, Barkot, Chajjian, Ghumawan, Makhniyal and Koh-i-Gandagar in Sirikot received much snowfall.