Murree devises snowfall security

Strategy prepared in view of guidelines issued by LHC's Rawalpindi Bench

RAWALPINDI:

A new snowfall security plan has been devised to ensure the safety of tourists visiting Murree during winter.

This new plan follows the security guidelines issued by the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench. After the tragic deaths of 22 tourists during the severe snowfall on January 7, 2022, the court directed the city administration to develop a comprehensive security plan.

Under this plan, a snowfall emergency will be declared in Murree from December 15, 2024, to February 28, 202 and the leaves of all relevant department employees and officers will be cancelled.

Additional employees of Traffic Police and Highway Department, Civil Defence from Rawalpindi will be transferred and posted in Murree. Additional Highway Department drivers will also be provided for emergency snow removal from roads, streets, paths and tourist spots during snowfall. These drivers will work 24 hours in three shifts with five vehicles. More salt will be provided this year to melt the snow on the roads and paths. This salt will be sprinkled on the snow as soon as snowfall begins.

Computerised data of vehicles entering Murree during the snowfall season will be monitored daily. For this, there will be special computer monitoring at Kohala Bridge Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Galiyat and Bara Kahu in Islamabad and facility centres will be set up at different 16 places for the convenience of tourists. One official from all the relevant departments will be posted at these centres under 24-hour Civil Defence supervision.

A central control room will be set up in Murree under the direct supervision of Deputy Commissioner, Zaheer Shirazi. For the convenience of tourist families, all hotels, restaurants, and guesthouses will be fixed with uniform fares along with the categories of rooms.

There will be different rent for heater rooms and non-heater rooms, 10 price magistrates will be appointed to control the government-fixed rates of food and drink and essential items in hotels, cabins.

The officials will check markets, entertainment places and chair lift areas in shifts from 8am to 2am. Official rates will also be set for chairlifts and cable cars. Washroom rates will also be set at entertainment venues.

During the winter and Christmas holidays, from December 24 to January 5, only a specific number of vehicles will be allowed to enter.

Hourly monitoring and alerts will be issued from the control room of Murree rain and snow weather conditions every hour and during snowfall. An instructional alert will be issued daily for all tourists visiting Murree during the season.

This new plan will be implemented in November. The officers and employees who will be assigned extra season duties for Murree will start joining from Rawalpindi to Murree at the designated spot in the third week of December. Additional duties will be on a one-week rotation.