Locals, tourists trapped in heavy Naran snowfall

Residents of Batakundi have lost communication with the rest of the province

BALAKOT: Continuous snowfall in Naran late on Monday and on Tuesday has brought life to a standstill in the scenic valley, leaving hundreds of tourists and locals trapped.

The situation has been exacerbated by the impact the snowfall has had on the electrical and telephonic transmission systems in the valley.

The residents of Batakundi, located just 15 kilometres east of Naran, have lost communication with the rest of the province owing to the snow affecting the local potato crop.

Owing to the four feet of snow on Babusar Top, the Kaghan road leading to Chilas in Gilgit-Baltistan has been closed for traffic, causing a problem for commuters heading to and from the northern-most parts of the country.

Hundreds of vehicles carrying locals and tourists have been stuck at Goriyan.

Despite hectic efforts, the heavy machinery of the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) and the National Highway Authority (NHA) failed to fully restore traffic on the road until Tuesday evening. Their task has been made all the more difficult owing to the unending queues of vehicles and slippery roads because of the snow.

With the NHA and KDA vehicles finding it tough to reach the site owing to stalled traffic on Sharae Kaghan, locals started clearing snow in some areas on their own.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2018.