Murree, Galiyat receive two feet snow

PESHAWAR: The Met Office said on Sunday that Murree, Nathiagali, Ayubia and other Guliyat areas received 2-feet snow while the heavy snowfall would continue the whole night on Sunday. The Murree-Nathiagali was blocked at three places due to land sliding following heavy snowfall.

Meanwhile, at least 8 people died and 16 others were injured in rain and snow related incidents in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), said a report shared by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) here on Sunday. According to a spokesman of the authority, 16 houses received partial damages while one was completely destroyed.

KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan directed district administrations and authorities concerned for acceleration of relief operation in the affected areas. The highest number of casualties occurred in District Shangla wherein five persons including three children died while one house was also damaged completely.

Similarly, one child died in Charsadda, DI Khan and Hangu districts each. Four houses were partially damaged in Khyber, 3 in Charsadda and two each in Buner, Upper Dir districts and one each house in DI Khan, Hangu, Karak, Peshawar and Tank. In Charsadda, three cattle also perished.

The authority started distribution of relief goods including tents, kitchen sets, hygiene sets, water cooler, tarpal sheets and plastic sheets among the affected families in Charsadda and Karak districts.

Similarly, district administration and other authorities concerned were busy in taking steps for re-opening of the closed roads. It said that the authority is consecutively monitoring the overall situation and in close contact with district administration and other authorities concerned.

The authority has directed the immediate payment of compensation to all affected people as per policy of the provincial government. It said that the Emergency Operation Centre of the PDMA is fully operational 24/7 and has directed tourists to take precautionary measures before visiting tourists’ spots in the province.

Meanwhile, the daily wagers are turning back their houses empty handed for two days during rainfall which continued without any break here in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the adjoining areas.

The federal capital Islamabad received 40 mm rain and Rawalpindi received 45 mm rain till the filing of this report but it would cross over 70mm till Monday (today). Absence of natural gas added miseries of the people in this cold weather. The rain has disturbed routine life here in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The low-lying areas and weekly bazaars were affected due to continuous rain here on Sunday.

According to Met Office, Bokra received 45mm rain, Shamsabad 42mm, Chaklala 45mm, Golra 40mm, Saidpur Village 40mm, H/8-2 40mm and Zero Point received 40mm till the filing of this report. The rain would remain continue the whole night till Monday, Met Office predicted. The rain would cross over 70mm here in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Met Office predicted.

On the other hand access to Rawalpindi and Islamabad was affected particularly for commuters who were waiting at different bus and wagon stops. The metro buses were packed with passengers during the rain on the occasion. Metro bus track was also filled with rainwater.

According to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), national and the international flight schedule also affected due to cloudy weather. The areas where food free of cost was distributing were jam packed with daily wagers they were in long queues to get food free of cost. Several motors developed major faults while motorcyclists also faced difficult situation during rain.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood were continuously visiting and monitoring the situation along Nullah Leh. He said that water sucking vehicles were present everywhere to remove rainwater from roads and streets. The rescue teams are also present in all areas of Airport Road, Committee Chowk underpass, Liaquat Bagh, Javed Colony, Dhoke Khabba, Sadiqabad, Satellite Town, Jamia Masjid Road and Murree Road to control the situation, he claimed.

The locals of low-lying areas including Javed Colony, Arya Muhallah, Chaman Zar, Misriyal, Dehri, Tench, Jan Colony, Dhok Juma, Al-Mumtaz Colony, Mubarak Lane, Dhok Mangtal, Dhok Banaras, Dhamyal and several other localities were facing worst situation in rainfall situation. The umbrella sellers were looting public both hands and selling an umbrella at Rs700 to Rs1000.

Talking to ‘The News’ people belonged to all walks of life have strongly protested against absence of gas supply in severe cold weather and demanded authorities concerned to look into the matter on an emergency basis.