Left stranded: Snowfall halts traffic at Lowari Tunnel

Road leading to the tunnel closed at midnight, reopened at 3pm Sunday afternoon.

CHITRAL/ SHANGLA: People may have been flocking to Shangla to catch a glimpse of the snowcapped mountains, but the weather spelled misery for those travelling the main route towards Chitral’s Lowari Tunnel which was closed on Saturday night. A large number of vehicles were stuck on both sides of the tunnel because of heavy snowfall.

Chitral police official Sher Aziz Baig said usually the National Highway Authority (NHA) officials open the tunnel for passage twice a week—Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm. However, as Lowari Top was mostly blanketed by snow, the tunnel had to deal with heightened traffic. As authorities are known to relax the schedule depending on mitigating circumstances, the tunnel was left open for 24 hours on Saturday and on Sunday to facilitate locals and help the increased flow of traffic.

However, Baig mentioned, the route to the tunnel was closed around 12am on Saturday night/Sunday morning because of what was later recorded as a one foot of snow. The weather had cleared by Sunday morning.

Hundreds of passengers using public transport and private vehicles were left stranded, said Baig. They were forced to wait for hours for the routes to reopen. The policeman added the road opened at 3pm on Sunday and traffic resumed from the Chitral side. Baig said vehicles headed towards Chitral would be allowed to move once traffic from the other side thinned out.

NHA officials could not be contracted via telephone despite several attempts due to the loss of signal in the area. Locals said snowfall caused various issues, including prolonged power outages, communication problems and food shortages.

Greener on the other side

Officials in Shangla were busy clearing roads for locals and tourists who flocked to catch a glimpse of the snowcapped mountains.

Officials said all the link roads of the district were now open. A district administration official added all the trees and mountains were covered with snow, thus attracting tourists from nearby areas.

He said snow continued to fall at intervals in Yakh Tangay, Spin Ghar, Gamtal, Kapar Bandha, Shangla Top, Lilownai and Shalkho Bar areas of the district. The official mentioned around three feet of snow was recorded in Gamtal, Spin Ghar and Kapar Bandha, while one-and-a-half feet of white powder fell on Yakh Tangay. Meanwhile, Shangla Top received a foot of snow.

He said snowfall continued in Besham and other plains of the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2015.