Snowfall: Life in Chitral comes to standstill

Fresh spell of snow badly affects communications systems, area starts to face shortages of food and other necessities.

Heavy snowfall in Chitral has brought life to a standstill in many areas. The fresh spell of snow has badly affected communications systems and the area has started facing shortages food and other necessities. It has also blocked Lowari Tunnel, the only land link between the district and the rest of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, K-P assembly members Sardar Khan and Sardar Hussain said that due to non-payment, a Korean company working under the National Highway Authority has halted work on Lowari Tunnel, leaving people scrambling for food and other necessities. They said that PIA has also cut the number of flights between Peshwar and Chitral from three to one.



“The fresh snowfall has virtually trapped people in the valley,” they said. The speakers demanded that the federal government immediately intervene to clear the dues of the Korean company so that work on the tunnel resumes.

They also demanded that emergency flights be initiated to bring in goods and carry people to and from the district. Chitral remains virtually inaccessible during the winter and PIA flights are the only means of communication.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2014.

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