Passengers stranded on Lowari Pass during snowfall
CHITRAL: The Lowari tunnel was not opened for passengers due to about four to five feet of snow on the approach roads in both sides of the passageway on Monday.
Passengers were stopped on both the portals due to which they faced trouble waiting amid snow and without any shelters.
A number of passengers told ChiralToday correspondent that when they reached the tunnel, the National Highway Authority had pasted a notice on the entrance telling them that the tunnel would open at 10am instead of 9am. However, at 10am, they were not allowed entry saying that work was underway inside.
While waiting, the passenger saw a private vehicle coming out of the tunnel from the Chitral side. When asked, the driver of the vehicle said that there was no work going on inside the tunnel, said the passengers.
The Chitral police said that on Chitral and Dir sides of the tunnel about five feet of snowfall was recorded on Monday. As a result, a number of passenger vehicles were stranded.
The police said that on the direction of the DPO Chitral Mansoor Aman they rescued the stranded passengers.
Meanwhile, the rain/snowfall increased the temperature across Chitral confining the people to their houses. In the meanwhile, there was also disruption in the supply of electricity form Golen Gol to the town due to faulty lines.
When the project director was contacted, he told ChitralToday that supply of power continued without any disruption but there might be flaws in the grid station.
He said so far only eight megawatts of the over 30 MW power of Golen Gol was being utilized, adding he had asked PESCO to supply power to other areas of Chitral to increase consumption. However, residents said PESCO had not put all its staff into work and most of them were still drawing salaries while sitting at homes.—GH Farooqui
well done G.H Farooqi saib and chitral today for reflecting the genuine issues faced by the locals…keep it up..