Heavy snowfall disrupts life in G-B’s Ghizer Valley

GILGIT: Heavy snowfall has once again disrupted life in the high-altitude valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan, with the Ghizer valley the worst affected.

On the other hand, landslides, triggered by heavy rain and snowfall, have blocked the strategic Karakoram Highway at Kohistan, suspending traffic between G-B and rest of the country.



In the Ghizer valley of G-B, over two feet of snowfall over the past two days has blocked several roads and affected the power supply.

“In my village, more than two feet of snowfall has been recorded in 36 hours,” said Inayat Abdali, a resident of Hundarap village of Phandar valley.

“There is no power for 36 hours while the roads are also blocked,” Abdali told The Express Tribune, lamenting his miseries.

According to reports, besides Phandar and Handarap, the other villages including Gulakmuli and Teru have also received heavy snowfall resulting in closure of roads.

“The snowfall has left several people and their livestock stranded in Nullahs,” said another resident about the area where local farmers live near high pastures to feed their livestock.



“In markets, the suspension of food supplies have resulted in a price hike,” he said, asking authorities to take notice of the situation.

In the Gojal valley, a sudden thunderstorm uprooted trees and affected electricity and telephone transmission lines.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2017.