Authorities on alert as Murree likely to get season’s first snowfall

Safety advisories issued for locals, tourists to prevent untoward incidents

RAWALPINDI:

All institutions, including the National Highway Authority (NHA), have been put on high alert after the forecast of the first snowfall of the winter season in Malka-e-Kohsar, Murree.

The Rawalpindi deputy commissioner will oversee tourist arrangements in the Murree district, where only a limited entry of tourists will be allowed. There will be a complete ban on road parking in the district. Hotel booking has also been made mandatory for tourists.

District administration sources told The Express Tribune that the first snowfall of the season is expected in Murree within the next few days according to the forecast by the meteorological department following which all institutions, including the NHA, City Traffic Police, Motorway Police, Tourism Police, Rescue 1122, and Civil Defence Department, have been placed on high alert.

The sources said all preparations for the expected tourist arrivals in Murree and the projected snowfall have been completed, and only a limited number of visitors will be permitted to enter the tourist district during the snowfall.

The ban, however, will not apply to the locals or travellers who travel to Kashmir via Murree.

According to the sources, a formal control room will be formed in Murree to control the movement of visitors, and the entrance of 8,000 automobiles will be made conditional with the hotel reservations.

After the Murree tragedy, which claimed the lives of 23 tourists earlier this year, the Punjab government announced upgrading the city into a tehsil. However, despite the passage of 11 months, an official Deputy Commissioner could not be appointed in Murree.

Rawalpindi DC Captain (retd) Shoaib Ali will oversee the arrangements during the snowfall in the district, while CPO Rawalpindi will perform the duties of the district police officer.

According to the sources, the tourists will be notified before arriving in Murree during the snowfall season about the presence of snow and slippage on the city's highways. The visitors entering Murree during snowfall would also have additional amenities.

The sources said that heavy snow removal machinery was deployed at different places before the snowfall. Vehicle lifting and salting arrangements have also been made. The district administration will secretly review the accommodation options offered to visitors in the hotels and the hotel owners will face harsh punishments for violations and extortionate rent demands.

The Murree Snowfall Control Room would be required to communicate with the Meteorological Department and 22 other departments.

Two die in accident

At least two people were killed and three others were injured when a speeding vehicle collided with a pillar of the metro bus flyover near Shamsabad in Rawalpindi. According to Rescue 1122, the apparent reason behind the accident was over-speeding under heavy rain. Rescue personnel shifted the injured and the bodies to the Holy Family Hospital.

The deceased were identified as Zulqarnain and Kashif. Rescue 1122 further said that the vehicle was destroyed during the accident while all of the occupants of the car were Afghan nationals.

Moreover, the Newtown police have registered a case of the accident and started an investigation.

According to the police, they have taken the automobile into their custody and shifted it to the police station. The victims were said to have received severe head and other body injuries.

CTO directs road assistance

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Naveed Irshad Monday inspected various roads and directed traffic officials, including the circle and sector in-charges, to actively engage in ensuring the uninterrupted flow of traffic and timely assistance to road users throughout the city during the rain.

In a media release, the CTO said that to maintain the flow of traffic in the city during the rain.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2022.