Heavy Rains: Landslide blocks KKH in Kohistan

KOHISTAN: The Karakoram Highway, the main artery connecting Gilgit-Baltistan with the rest of Pakistan, was blocked on Friday after heavy a landslide in Kohistan.Kohistan police said that heavy rainfall had triggered a landslide on the KKH near Lotar village, some 40 kilometers from Dasu at around 6 pm in the evening.  Owing to the heavy stones and boulders which came down from the mountains during the landslide, the highway was blocked suspending vehicular traffic heading up to G-B and down to the rest of the country. However, police said that the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) has been informed and machinery would be dispatched to clear the road on Saturday morning. The official explained that it was near impossible to work in the dark at night.  Officials added that heavy rain and snow had thrice blocked the KKH in this region over the past month.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2017.