Slight rain started in the plains of Hazara on Sunday afternoon, while snowfall began at around sunset in Galiyat Valley, Kaghan Valley, hilly parts of Kohistan, Battagram, and Torghar districts.
Tourist haunts such as Galiyat and Kaghan have been completely blanketed by snow, disrupting the already broken traffic system.
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In Galiyat, according to area people and the police, the main Abbottabad-Murree road was closed at different places and portions of the road which were cleared by snowploughs were not usable for small vehicles as the roads iced over, leaving dozens of tourist families stranded in Nathiagali and other areas of Galiyat.
“I have personally been helping tourists leave the valley since yesterday evening,” Galiyat DSP Jamilur Rehman claimed while adding that although the situation was not alarming in Galiyat, the poor performance of contractors who are supposed to clear the roads of snow has led to disruptions in traffic flow.
He pointed out that over 30 vehicles of tourists were stranded near Khariagali which would be assisted in moving towards Murree by night time as the machine was still in use on the road. He added that tourists were being advised to attach chains on their tyres to improve traction.
Locals said that Galiyat city areas has received 15 to 18 inches of snow, while the hilly areas like Ayubia, Thandiyani and Mirajani have received 60 metres to 75 metres of snow since Sunday evening.
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Naeem, a tourist from Islamabad who came to see the snow with his family, told The Express Tribune that local drivers and private service providers were charging tourists heavy fees to attach the chains.
“They charge for Rs 2,000 to Rs15,000 a vehicle for helping stranded tourists get out of the valley safely using chain”, he added. He said that people who wanted to get out of the valley in emergency situations were easy prey for local service providers as they fleece them to the maximum as there was no authority to check overcharging.
The police and local residents held the contractor responsible for the condition of communications infrastructure in Galiyat. “The contractor is a blue-eyed boy of influential political figures of the area and takes full advantage of his liaison with bigwigs. He does not even have proper snow clearing machinery”, said Waqar Khan, a resident of Baragali.
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He said the contractor was given contract by the GDA, CW and K-P highways on political grounds. Area people said that all the link roads were closed following recent snowfall and if not cleared if villagers could face food shortages.
Meanwhile, Kaghan valley remained cut off from Balakot Tehsil Headquarters and rest of the country as the roads remained closed following the recent snowfall. Different roads in Allai tehsil of Battagram and Torghar district were also reported to be closed following the snow.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2017.
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