Landslide damages roads in Murree, disrupts traffic flow

Fallen trees, electric poles add to motorists’ woes at hill station

RAWALPINDI:

A landslide damaged a road near Aliot, disrupting traffic on the Rawalpindi-Murree-Kashmir highway for traffic for four hours.

The highway department removed the debris from the road, opening it for traffic on Monday.

Landslides have also caused trees and poles to fall in Murree, causing traffic jams on major roads. Due to traffic jams, tourists and commuters have to face severe hardships.

Like other parts of the country, heavy rains have lashed Murree, Galiyat and adjacent mountain areas, causing landslides and flooding.

Snowfall in the mountains has also caused huge mudslides to fall onto the road. Mudslides make the road muddy, causing severe problems for tourists on the slippery roads.

Heavy rains also caused severe damage to Mall Road. The rain also caused displacing tiles at GPO Chowk and link roads, which not only affected the traffic flow but also caused serious problems to pedestrians.

Like the entire country, Murree and its surroundings are experiencing heavy rains. The temperature has dropped to 16 degrees in Murree.

NHA, Rescue 1122, Civil Defence and other departments have been instructed to remain on high alert during monsoon rains. The district administration said that all departments concerned were trying to provide the best services to the tourists in Murree. It said that fallen trees and landslides disrupted traffic flow temporarily but it was restored with the help of heavy machinery.

Meanwhile, the previous government’s decision to make Murree the first tourism district of Punjab has been reinstated, with the status of the tehsil to be elevated to the level of district next month.

Former Member of National Assembly (MNA) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sadaqat Ali Abbasi told The Express Tribune that approval for declaring Murree as the province’s new tourism district had first been given by the erstwhile government in February.

He said that practical steps had already been taken ahead of the formal implementation of the decision, with two new police stations were established, while the police department in Murree had been upgraded to the level of Kohsar Police Division along with the appointment of an official of the Superintendent of Police (SP) rank.

However, the change of governments in April had resulted in the new regime revoking the notification, thereby putting it on hold indefinitely.

The decision has now been reinstated, with Abbasi confirming that discussions have been held regarding the same with Chief Minister Pervez Elahi.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2022.