Kaghan highway reopened to traffic

Blocked road leading to Naran cleared by cutting glacier

SIALKOT:

The road leading to a popular recreation spot in Naran has been reopened to traffic after almost four months of closure as the thoroughfare has been cleared of glaciers and landslides.

Work is underway to restore the highway up to Babusar top.

Locals and officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA) told The Express Tribune that every year Shahrah-e-Kaghan is closed for traffic between November and March.

According to officials, the highway up to Babusar Top will be restored to traffic in the next few days, after which passengers travelling between Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad-Rawalpindi will be able to travel on Karakoram Highway through the Kagan highway. The distance from Gilgit to Islamabad via Shahra-e-Kaghan is reduced by more than five hours.

Read Africa's glaciers to melt, millions of poor face drought, floods: UN

The Kaghan highway was closed to traffic after a snowfall in December last year and the land connection between Naran and adjoining valleys was cut off.

Meanwhile, the Kaghan valley is also experiencing a gradual rise in temperatures due to global climate change. Over the years, ice on Koh-e-Makra and other peaks has begun to melt. In April, the reopening of the highway up to Kagan Bata Kundi is an unusual phenomenon, whereas in the past the road remained closed to traffic due to frequent snowfall during March and April.

It took more than a month to remove the glacier from Kagan highway in the past, however, this year, a limited snowfall has been witnessed.

The prolonged drought has also melted ice and glaciers on Koh-e-Makra and other high mountains for many years, raising temperatures in Balakot and Kagan valley gradually.

One of the main reasons for the rise in temperatures in the Kaghan valley is the burning of forests in the Kaghan forest division every year. The forest burning not only affects wildlife but also causes the melting of ice and glaciers.

Locals said that if the government did not take steps to protect the Kagan valley from environmental impacts, it will lose its four seasons.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2022.