Heavy snowfall in upper parts of Hazara Division triggers alert

Landslides block KKH, Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road

MANSEHRA/DIR/BISHAM: The police were put on a high alert in the Kaghan Valley as the upper parts of Hazara Division received heavy snowfall on the second consecutive day on Wednesday.

The snowfall, which had broken the prolonged dry spell in Hazara, continued intermittently on Wednesday in high altitude, mountainous areas of Mansehra, Torghar and Kohistan districts.The main roads in the upper parts of Hazara, including Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road and the Karakoram Highway, are blocked because of landslides and heavy snow.

The Karakoram Highway was blocked after a landslide in Dubair area of Kohistan. The Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road was blocked at various places in the valley because of landslides and heavy snowfall.

"The Kaghan road is blocked at various places because of the continuing snowfall and landslides," a local villager Mohammad Asif said. The police in Kaghan restricted the entry of tourists to the valley with the start of the snowfall. Four policemen had died last year after remaining trapped in the area due to snowfall.

"We have already closed four checkposts in the Kaghan Valley. Now the Naran post is also closed after snowfall in the area and tourists are restricted from going there," Ahsan Saifullah, District Police Officer, Mansehra, told reporters.

He said that policemen deployed at all closed checkposts in the valley were kept on high alert in Kaghan to cope with the situation. Ahsan Saifullah said the situation was under control and no untoward incident had taken place in Mansehra.

BISHAM: The first major snowfall of the season blanketed the mountains in the Shangla district on Wednesday. The plain areas received intermittent rain throughout the day. The Shangla Top and Yakh Tangi Top in the mountainous area received two to three feet snowfall.

The Puran-Shangla Road was blocked to traffic due to snowfall at Yakh Tangi. Alpuri, the headquarters of Shangla district, also received one feet of snowfall. The mountains in Shapur Valley, Olander, Ajmir and Kapar Banda received three to four feet of snowfall, bringing the mercury further down and disrupting power supply to Puran tehsil.The district administration issued instructions to motorists and other public transporters to avoid unnecessary travel and to use snow chains while using the Shangla Top road.UPPER DIR: The Pakistan Army jawans are busy working on the Lowari Top road to clear it for traffic."The soldiers have cleared the road till Lowari Tunnel. We hope the road till the Lowari Top will be cleared tomorrow if the area doesn't receive more snowfall," said an official.The Lowari Top has received at least seven feet of snowfall till now, prompting the officials to close it for traffic.However, the authorities allowed the stranded people to cross the tunnel late Tuesday night. The rain and snowfall had added to the miseries of the Chitrali people trying to cross the Lowari Top linking Chitral with Upper Dir to reach their destinations. Meanwhile, Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata were also blessed with rain on Wednesday to break the long dry spell. The rain-thirsty people, especially farmers, heaved a sigh of relief as the rain fell during the night and washed the trees and flowers and cleared the dust.