Murree Hills, a major tourist attraction close to Islamabad frequented by hordes of tourists every winter, was recently upgraded to district level. However, the Civil Defence Department, key agency related to human safety, is underprepared and understaffed this tourism season.

The hill station has seen severe rain and snowfall over the past few years. The city, newly upgraded as a district, has a small Civil Defence Department with only two regular staff. Rest of the help, when needed, is sought from Rawalpindi, the district of which Murree tehsil was previously a part.

A couple of years ago, in early 2022, as many as two dozen people died in vehicles trapped in heavy snow. Authorities had then found it very difficult to help the stranded tourists. Many, including women and children, died in their cars.

During her electoral campaign Maryam Nawaz Sharif, now chief minister, had promised to make the hill station a state-of-the-art tourist destination and providing necessary facilities.

According to an official, the department hires temporary staff for urgent tasks every snowfall season. “We are a new district. A lot of things need to be improved, including the infrastructure. We’re seeking help from our parent district, Rawalpindi, for now,” he says.

“The district has received funding but there’s still a need to speed up things since the snowfall season has started. The provincial authorities have already directed the rescue department to implement a winter/ snowfall plan for the hill station. The season ends in February,” he says.

“If you compare the number of visitors in the city in peak winter, the staff is very low.”

Civil defence staff is also assigned duties at facilitation centres, health camps and sensitive junctions, the control room and tourist spots.

“If you consider the number of visitors in the city in peak winter, the staff number are very low,” the official tells The News on Sunday. “We need more people so that we can effectively deal with any emergency. We also need more equipment,” says the official.

“The district administration has already geared up its plan for winter. All the departments have been directed to be fully equipped and ready by mid-November. Help will also be sought from the divisional headquarters for extra staff and equipment. The aim is to avoid any untoward situation,” the official says.

“The pace of promised development is yet to be seen,” says Sajid Abbasi, a resident and a trader of the city. He says that there is a need to equip the city with better emergency facilities including civil defence.

“After the 2022 incident, the Lahore High Court directed the authorities to make a winter plan to deal with traffic before the start of the snow season in the hill station,” says Abbasi.

According to some estimates, about one million people enter Murree every year, mainly in winter. On weekends, the footfall is higher as tens of thousands of people take to the hill station to witness snowfall. “When the place is crowded, relief and rescue become a major challenge,” says Imran Jameel, a tourist.

The writer is a staff member. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com