Govt slammed for poor response to Murree tragedy

PESHAWAR: The relatives of the men, who died recently after being stranded in the heavy snowfall in Murree, on Monday criticised the government for failing to launch the rescue operation on time to save precious lives.

In their separate chats with The News, the relatives of the deceased narrated the ordeal of their near and dear ones, saying it was astonishing to note that the government and its relevant departments lacked the necessary equipment to clear the snow and rescue the stranded people.

They said the death of 22 people in Murree had exposed tall claims of the government and relevant departments to promote tourism. The tragedy, they maintained also highlighted the so-called efficiency of the district administration, the traffic police, national and provincial disaster management authorities.

They blamed the owners of local hotels for their callousness at a time when the snowstorm hit Murree and turned it into the valley of death. The Metrological Department, they said, had already warned the people about the bad weather and heavy snowfall and it was the responsibility of the departments concerned to stay alert to cope with any eventuality.

An elder, Shah Zareen Khan, said the government could not bring back the deceased people by constituting a committee to probe the incident. He said the people were crying for help in Murree, which was located at miles away from Islamabad.

Mahmud Khattak deplored that this was not the first or the last tragedy. He said the authorities should open their eyes and put efforts in place to avoid such mishaps in the future. “The government should have provided facilities to the department concerned and should have held the officials accountable for their negligence as without providing required items and training, how could an official be blamed for inaction,” he remarked.

Commenting on the apathy of the government to deal with such calamities, a resident of Mardan, who returned from Italy, said it was sheer mismanagement and negligence. He recalled that he lived in Italy and was flown to the hospital in a helicopter when he had sustained injuries in a road accident.

Every government in the world, he said, took steps for the wellbeing of its citizens but the situation in Pakistan was different as the authorities were seen passing the buck. He asked whether or not the government could arrange a helicopter to airlift the people who were stranded in the snowfall.

The man added that the conflicting and irresponsible statements of ministers and advisers added insult to injury. Deploring the attitude of hotel owners for demanding extra charges for stay, the people asked as to who was responsible to keep a check on them. The tragedy, they said, would be remembered forever and the tourists and foreigners would think twice before coming for sightseeing in future.