Jamaat criticises NHA over failure to open
Lowari Tunnel; wants three days a week traffic flow
MINGORA/PARACHINAR: Tourists thronged scenic Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kurram Agency to enjoy snowfall as a fresh spell of rain and snowfall started on Saturday.
The mountain peaks in Swat received snowfall while plain areas received rain. The tourists frolicked in the snowfall and took selfies.
The failure of the National Highway Authority (NHA) and district administration to remove snow from the roads spoiled the joy of excited tourists as their vehicles got stuck in snow for hours.
The plains and mountain peaks in Kurram Agency
wore a white blanket as parts of the tribal region received snowfall.
Tourists arrived in a huge number to enjoy snowfall and take pictures.
The snowfall that started the other night continued at regular intervals throughout the day.
The Koh-e-Sufaid, plain areas and Parachinar, the administrative headquarters of Kurram Agency, received snowfall.
The tourists were amused and were seen cooking food to enjoy the snowfall and cold weather.
The road remained slippery due to snowfall due to which several vehicles skidded off the roads.
Several persons sustained injuries in various road accidents. However, no major accident took place.
Our correspondent in Chitral adds: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) local leaders on Saturday criticised the National Highway Authority (NHA) over failing to remove snow and reopen the Lowari Tunnel road for traffic due to which passengers had been struck and forced to spend the night in vehicles and caves in the biting cold.
Thousands of people had been stuck on both sides of the Lowari Tunnel due to reported mismanagement and failure of the NHA to remove the snow from the road in the Dir side of Lowari Tunnel.
District chief of JI Maulana Jamshed Ahmad and others told a press conference that 3,000 vehicles had been stuck on both side of the Lowari Tunnel due the mismanagement of the NHA.
They said the passengers, including women and children, were forced to spend the night in vehicles and caves in the mountains in the biting cold.
The JI leaders said that the passengers were sent back to Chitral after being stuck for 19 hours near the Lowari Tunnel in severe cold conditions.
They said the people of the landlocked district were the ultimate victims of the negligence and incompetency of the NHA which could not ensure smooth flow of traffic in winter.
Flanked by other party leaders including Jehanzeb Khan, Qari Aziz, Ziaul Haq Mujahid, and others, he said that the federal government had no excuse after the District Council of Chitral had offered it to pay the cost for suspension of development work and keeping the Lowari Tunnel open to traffic for three days a week.
The JI demanded the government to keep the Lowari Tunnel open to traffic for at least three days a week to ease the hardships of the people. They threatened to observe a shutdown and hold a long march if their demands were not met.
