Tourists leave Kaghan as roads cleared of snow

MANSEHRA: The hundreds of tourists stranded in the Kaghan valley after the blockade of Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road because of the snowfall have left for respective destinations as the National Highway Authority cleared it for the traffic on Monday.

“The MNJ Road which links the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the Gilgit-Baltistan was blocked at the Babusar Top and its adjoining localities following the snowfall and now it is cleared for the traffic,” National Highway Authority’s Deputy Director, Shamsur Rehman told reporters.

The first snowfall of the season, which turned the weather cold, started in the Kaghan valley and high mountainous parts in the district on Sunday night and blocked the MNJ road to all sorts of traffic. The tourists, who were travelling between Kaghan valley (KP) and Chelas (GB), were stuck following the blockade of the main artery amid the heavy snowfall.

“We moved the heavy machinery to blockaded points and cleared it to traffic,” Mr Rehman said. Hussain Deen, the chairman of the hoteliers association in the Kaghan, said that the valley mostly receives the first snowfall of the winter season in early or mid-November but this time it was a premature fall.

“The tourists present in the valley enjoyed the first snowfall at night and in the morning,” he said.He said that MNJ Road was cleared for traffic, adding tourists and travellers were on their way to their respective destinations across the country.