Rain, snowfall disrupt civic life in K-P, G-B and AJK

PESHAWAR: Rain and snow lashed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and other parts of northern Pakistan on Sunday.

G-B received some 30 cm of snow, blocking a number of key roads including the Karakoram Highway. Supply shortages in G-B were apparent as deliveries of daily use items became impossible. Over one metre of snow fell in Swat, but most roads remained open.

Peshawar received 14 millimetres of rain on Saturday and Sunday, according to the met office. The office also forecasts more rain and snowfall on the mountains of Kalam, Gilyat and Chitral districts.

Other areas of the province, including Swat, Shangla, Dir, Mardan, Swabi, Charsada, Bunair, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Batgram and Haripur districts, are also expected to receive moderate rain on Monday.

The residents of Peshawar heaved a sigh of relief as the showers broke a spell of unseasonably hot weather in K-P. The rains brought locals out of their houses and into the parks to enjoy the change in weather.

But all was not rosy. Most of the low lying areas in city were inundated for lack of a proper drainage system.

Rain also swept away filth and dirt lying on road side in congested areas like Gunj Faqir Abad, Dalazak, Shaheen Muslim Town, Tajabad, Shaikhabad, Kohati Gate, Lahori Gate, Yakka Toot, Wazir Bagh and Khan Mast Colony.

According to PIA and Pakistan Railways enquiry offices, all the flights and train continued to work as scheduled.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

Heavy showers and snowfall blanketed parts of G-B, including Kohistan where landslides blocked the Karakoram Highway in two places, suspending traffic between Gilgit and Rawalpindi.

Passengers reaching Gilgit from Chilas and Rawalpindi said that intermittent showers triggered landslides at Barsin and Lotar in Kohistan District, stranding hundreds of trucks and passenger vehicles on either side of the road.

“Thank God we reached safely, it was scary amid rain and boulders falling on the road from the mountain,” said Nafis Ahmed, a resident of Gilgit.

A government official said heavy machinery was used to clear boulders from the road to reopen it. Northern Areas Transport Corporation officials said the bus service continued to operate, but passengers had to change buses on the site of the landslide.

According to the met office, the overcast conditions will continue for a couple of days and the region will receive more rain in the coming days. The drizzling has continued since Saturday and has whitened the peaks with snow. Amid overcast conditions, PIA suspended flights to G-B till Monday, leaving hundreds of passengers in Gilgit and Islamabad stranded.

Heavy rain and snow also fell in Ghizer, Muzaffarabad, Kel, Sharda, Neelum Valley in AJK, where people faced difficulties due to blocked roads and supply worries in the chilly weather.

The chilly spell could bring further snow and sleet according to weather experts. Temperatures will hover above zero on Monday and heavy frost will lead to icy road conditions.

With prices already sky-rocketing, availability of dry wood and kerosene oil has also fallen short. With additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2011.