KP, Fata receive rain, snowfall

Hundreds stranded on both sides of Lowari Tunnel

PESHAWAR/DIR: Parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Tuesday received rain and snowfall ending the drought-like conditions.It made the weather chilly in the mountainous areas.

The long dry spell had caused concern among the farmers as their crops were failing. The dry weather had also made the people suffer from various cold-related diseases.Peshawar barely received a drizzle. However, the weather remained cloudy throughout the day as the people hoped and prayed for more rainfall.

The faithful had been offering Nimaz-i-Istisqa in Peshawar and elsewhere in the province throughout December and even earlier, but their prayers were finally answered as 2016 ended and 2017 began.

The mountainous areas including Lowari Top, Kumrat, Thal, Kalkot, Doog Darra and other places in Upper Dir district received heavy snowfall while the plain areas were blessed by rain.The snowfall at the Lowari Top, which links Upper Dir with Chitral, and other areas started during the night between Monday and Tuesday and continued throughout the day.

According to local sources, the Lowari Top had received up to three feet snowfall. Kumrat valley in Upper Dir received up to two feet snowfall. Other mountainous areas got up to one and a half feet snow.

The Meteorological Department said that Upper Dir had received 13 millimetres rain.Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers got stranded on both sides of the Lowari Tunnel due to the heavy snowfall.In Upper Dir, the stranded Chitrali passengers blocked the road near Panahkot, prompting the police to resort to baton-charge to disperse the protesters.

The sources said four persons sustained injuries in the incident.The district administration of Upper Dir has established a tented village and a dispensary and made other arrangements for the Chitrali passengers in Panahkot, which is the stopover point for the Chitral-bound vehicles.

The police and other law-enforcement personnel have also been deployed in the area.The passengers asked the deputy commissioners of Chitral and Upper Dir to talk to the authorities concerned to open the Lowari Tunnel to enable them to reach their destinations and save them from the bitter cold.In Lower Dir, the hill tops of Shahi, Binshahi in Samar Bagh, Kalpani Sar in Maidan, Luqman Banda in Toormand, Gumbat Sar in Talash and Laram Top in Adenzai tehsils also received snowfall.

A resident of Kambat Samar Bagh Aizazullah told The News that snowfall at Shahi top was continued since early Tuesday. Nawab Badshah, a resident of Luqman Banda, told this scribe via phone that it was still snowing in his area.

Ubaidullah, a farmer hailing from Kandaro village, told The News he had sown wheat crop two months ago, which was yet to grow.He hoped that with the recent rains the wheat crop would start growing. A well known agriculturist of Lower Dir, Shafiq ur Rehman, also termed the spell beneficial for land production. The Swat, Buner and Hazara division also received rain and snowfall.