Naran avalanche buries hotels, houses

Incident sparks fears of significant financial losses amounting to tens of millions of rupees

BALAKOT:

Several houses and hotels in the popular tourist resort of Naran, in the Mansehra District of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), were buried under avalanche, following the collapse of two glaciers, officials of the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) said on Thursday.

Naran in the upper Kaghan Valley is one of the most popular tourist attractions locally as well as internationally. It is the most visited valley in Pakistan in the summer season.

The area becomes almost empty in winters because of severe cold, and road closures because of snowfall.

As usual, the road to Naran remains closed at several places due to avalanches.

Also read: Glacier burst closes Kaghan-Naran road

According to the information received from Naran, the KDA officials said, several hotels and houses were buried under the avalanche because of the collapse of Ghamla and Chapran glaciers on Jheel Road in Naran.

They added that the government agencies faced difficulties in gathering verified data of the losses. “The Kaghan Development Authority held an emergency meeting and formed a team to assess the damage,” KDA Director General Muhammad Shabir Khan said.

Khan stressed that emergency team was being rushed to the affected town to immediately assess the damage and and submit its recommendations to the board. He added that work on Naran’s Jheel road, which had been closed by the avalanche, would be started when the access to the town was restored.

Khan said that KDA would help with the locals in all possible ways. He expressed concern that construction should be discouraged in places in the hit of the glaciers. “Guidance would sought from the local elders of Naran, who are well aware of these eventualities,” he added.