Parting Winter: Fresh spell of rain, snow lashes Astore

Due to the extreme cold weather, main roads between Astore and Gilgit at various points have been blocked

ASTORE: Thousands of people were left stranded in various towns of Gilgit owing to landslides that have blocked the Karakoram Highway at many points particularly, severing the link between Astore and Gilgit. Such were the strength of gales lashing the valley, that the flight from Gilgit to Islamabad was cancelled on Thursday (today) to avoid any mishap. The fresh wave of rain in upper areas of Gilgit-Baltistan coupled with extreme cold weather blocked the main roads between Astore and Gilgit at various points. However, the Public Works Department and military’s Frontier Works Organisation were braving the weather to open the road link so as to ensure availability of supplies in the far off town.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2017.