Landslide debris on KKH in Bhasha cleared

Highway opened for all types of traffic

GILGIT:

All types of vehicles have been restored in the Bhasha area of the Upper Kohistan district on Friday after removing debris from the landslide-hit Karakoram Highway (KKH).

Earlier in the day, the highway in Bhasha was opened only for one-way traffic. It was closed after every two hours until 6pm to restore the two-way traffic.

The first closure of the highway in Bhasha took place from 8am to 10am.

It was opened for traffic from 10am to 11pm.

The second time the main artery was shut down in Bhasha was from 12pm to 2pm while it was reopened for traffic from 2pm to 3pm.

The restoration work later continued on the highway from 3pm to 5pm.

The highway was completely opened for traffic from 6pm onwards.

Thousands of passengers, who were stuck on both sides since two days, said the work of removing the debris in Bhasha was very slow.

These passengers included elderly people, children, and women who were unable to continue towards their destinations and spent the two days in extremely harsh weather conditions without the facilities of food or accommodation.

Making matter worse, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday issued an advisory to all provincial authorities expecting thunderstorms forecasted across the country.

According to the NDMA technical team and Met department, a westerly wave is expected to enter the region from February 25 to February 27.

The forecast indicates potential rain, wind, thunderstorms, and snowfall over hilly areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Galiyat region, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The advisory warns possible disruptions in roadways in various areas including Murree, Naran, Kaghan, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Shangla, Astore, Hunza, Skardu, Neelum valley, Bagh, Poonch, and Haveli during this period.

The advisory highlights the risk of landslides, mudslides, rain spells, and snowfall, leading to potential road blockages in the upper area of K-P, Galiyat region, AJK, and G-B.

The combination of snowfall and rain is expected to result in a significant drop in temperatures.

In Balochistan and southern Punjab, heavy rainfall is expected that might trigger flash flooding in the nullahs there. The advisory alerts about the potential for landslides and mudslides, leading to road blockages because of isolated rain spells.

The NDMA has urged all provincial disaster management authorities, Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority, State Disaster Management Authority, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, National Highway Authority, National Highways and Motorway Police, Frontier Works Organisation, Rescue 1122, dam authorities, line departments, ministries, and federal agencies to undertake necessary measures in line with their respective mandates.

(With input from our News Desk in Karachi)