Traffic jams, high hotel rents bother visitors in Murree

Islamabad: Though Murree attracted large crowds of people from all over the country on Saturday and Sunday due to snowfall, holidaymakers complained about traffic jams and high hotel rents.

The people had begun coming to the ‘Malika-i-Kohsar’ (Queen of Mountains) as Murree is popularly known, earlier in the week after learning about snowfall but the weekend saw a huge influx of tourists, mostly from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjoining areas.

In Murree, Pindi Point, Kashmir Point, the Mall and Ayubia were the main attractions for visitors, while some went to the adjoining areas like Galyat, Bhurban, Ayubia and Nathiagali.

Many youth used motorcycles to reach Murree, which is an hour’s drive from the federal capital.

Ishtiaq Hussain of Islamabad said he had taken family to Murree to see snowfall.

“With snow everywhere, it’s no less than a paradise,” he said with a jubilant face.  While enjoying the pleasant weather, some visitors said traffic congestion and high rent of hotel rooms left a bad taste in their mouth.

“Hotels, especially those located on the Mall, are overcharging visitors but no one from the administration stops them. I feel really bad about it,” tourist Imran Chaudhry of Lahore complained.

Tourists complained about severe traffic jams and said the long queues of vehicles on major roads stressed them out.

They blamed their misery on the unavailability of parking spaces and wrong parking of some vehicles.