Popular tourist spot of Shogran in Balakot is covered with snow. PHOTO: ZULFIQAR ALI/EXPRESS
The snowfall which started on Tuesday continued on Wednesday covering the hills with a pristine white quilt alluring tourists to rush to the winter resorts.
Temperature in Abbottabad city went below freezing point increasing the demand for coal and firewood amid absence of piped gas supply.
As usual, the supply from Sui Northern Gas Line was in step with the mercury, the lower the temperature the lesser would the pressure of gas.
Meanwhile, the hub of tourism was expecting rush of visitors to enjoy snowfall. In this regard spokesman of the Galiyat Development Authority Ahsan Hameed said that heavy machinery has been deployed to remove the snow from roads.
He said roads were likely to be cleared of snow by early hours of Thursday, but nothing could be said about weather.
Hameed advised the tourists to check the vehicles before travelling to the Galiyat. Vehicles traveling in snow amid freezing temperatures have to be mechanically fit. A breakdown in freezing temperature becomes a matter of life and death.
Moreover, he asked intending tourists to carry extra fuels and strongly advised against using CNG fuelled vehicles on snowy roads which require powerful engine thrust to trudge on. “Tyre chains to tread on snow are strongly advisable,” he said asking visitors to learn how to tie tyre chains and carry these in trunk of the vehicles.
Finally, Hameed asked visitors coming to Galiyat during snowfall to travel only in daylight.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2019.
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