Dense fog disrupts life in twin cities

Hospitals receiving larger number of people suffering from breathing problems

RAWALPINDI: Dense fog and chilly weather in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have created immense problems for commuters and those entering both the cities.

Due to the chilly weather public and private healthcare facilities in the twin cities have been receiving extraordinary burden of patients with seasonal diseases.

People suffering from asthma and other breathing disorders were worst hit due to the fog and the smog condition.

Meanwhile, the District Health Authority launched an awareness campaign for sensitising citizens on measures to protect themselves from the cold snap.

DHA Chief Executive Officer Dr Muhammad Sohail Chaudary advised people to wear face masks to protect themselves from breathing problems, eye, nose, and throat infections.

DHA focal person for smog Dr Muhammad Ali Mirza further recommended avoiding physical activity such as walking. He advised people to drink plenty of water and clean houses with wet cloths instead of besom.

He added that wearing protected sunglasses while going outside could be helpful to avoid any sort of eye infection.

Gas shortage

Gas shortage in freezing cold exacerbates suffering of the people. Gas load shedding has forced people to use liquefied petroleum gas cylinders (LPG).

The price of LPG has soared past Rs150 per kilogramme.

Many underprivileged households were using firewood, or even scavenging green belts for twigs and dry bushes to keep the home fires burning.

Travel advisory

It also caused delays in flights at the Islamabad International Airport while the Motorway from Islamabad to Mardan was closed due to low visibility.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson said that various Islamabad-bound flights were diverted to Lahore International Airport as the visibility remained as low as 200 metres.

He added that owing to the absence of a modern landing system at Islamabad airport for the small airplanes, several flights were canceled. More than a dozen flights were delayed due to the foggy weather, while some flights were also cancelled.

The PIA spokesperson said that a Skardu bound flight, PK 451, from Islamabad, and another flight to Dubai PK 211 were cancelled, while PK 603 left for Gilgit after a delay of two hours and 40 minutes. The PIA flight, PK 246, from Damam to Islamabad was diverted and landed at Peshawar airport, he said, adding that an Islamabad-bound flight from Dubai was also diverted to Peshawar airport.

A flight from Islamabad to Quetta, PK 325 was also delayed. Another flight of foreign airlines bound to Karachi was also delayed for 1:50 hour. The flights between Islamabad and Karachi were resumed later.

The spokesperson told that the airport authorities were looking after the passengers of the disrupted flights and providing them accommodation.

The airport authorities have urged the passengers to register their phone numbers so that they could be informed promptly about the status of the flights. The spokesperson said that the cooperation on the part of the passengers was required as the disruption was being caused naturally over which they had no control of. However, he added that the airport authorities are developing plans to cope up with such situations in the future.

Further, the National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) spokesperson said the visibility on various sections of motorways become almost zero due to dense fog and urged the citizens to avoid unnecessary traveling during bad weather conditions.

The motorists were directed to implement the traffic safety rules devised by NH&MP and keep fog lights on if they were traveling during fog.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2019.