Girls cover themselves with plastic sheets as they walk in the rain through the city. PHOTO: REUTERS
Most areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa received rain and some received snowfall on Wednesday. An official of Meteorological Department in Peshawar said there had been light snowfall in upper Malakand and Hazara divisions along with Spin Ghar, Shangla Top, Logay and some other regions. Light snowfall was also recorded in Malam Jabba and upper Swat district.
At least 26mm of rain was recorded in Shangla and 32mm in Dir, while main routes in the more mountainous regions, such as Chitral, remained blocked after receiving snowfall as well as 22mm of rain in the last 12 hours.
Avalanche
Four officials of the security forces were buried in an avalanche on Wednesday morning while dozens of passengers, including four officials of the Red Cross remained stranded at Lowari Top since Tuesday due to an avalanche which blocked the road.
An official of the security forces said on Wednesday morning at around 9am security forces were crossing Lowari Top towards Chitral, when an avalanche hit them. He said four officials were buried, after which rescue workers had to dig them out and administer first aid.
Around 10am another avalanche hit Lowari Top, near the tunnel, and blocked it for all kinds of traffic.
Earlier on Tuesday, dozens of passengers in three vans, including four officials of the Red Cross, were left stranded because of a road blockage due to an avalanche. Security forces rushed to the rescue work on Wednesday, removed hurdles from the road near Ziarat and re-opened the route after nearly 30 hours.
Police posts shut in Kaghan
Continuous snowfall in Kaghan Valley caused the local police department to close down two of its posts situated on a higher altitude, sources told The Express Tribune on Wednesday. The valley’s mountains received their first snow last week and again on Monday and Tuesday night. As a result, the road leading to Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) via Babusar Top was closed off.
The area received 6 inches to 1 foot of snow, forcing the authorities to close the Batakundi post and to call back their forces from Baseer and Jalkhad posts. SHO Kaghan police station said this had been the routine for several years and the winter traffic to G-B has been diverted to the Karakoram Highway. He said since the roads remain blocked from November till March every year, the area’s police force is called back to Kaghan police station. The crime rate plunges to almost zero during winter due to the heavy snow restricting the movement of villagers and nomads, who usually move down to the settled areas. The SHO said the police from Kaghan could reach the area in case of any complaint received during the season.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th,2013.>
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