Passengers get waiting room in Chitral side of Lowari Tunnel

CHITRAL, Jan 9: Passengers going to Peshawar via Lowari tunnel got a waiting room in the northern portal of the tunnel on Chitral side. Earlier, the passengers were forced to wait under the open sky for hours and many of them were reported to have fainted due to extreme cold. Constructed by Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) at a cost of Rs4.8 million, the waiting room provides a spacious place for the passengers. Commandant Chitral Scouts Colonel Naeem Iqbal inaugurated the facility by unveiling the plaque on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, the district programme manager of SRSP, Tariq Ahmed, said after the closure of the Lowari top road during the winter season for about five months, the passengers used the unfinished tunnel and had to wait for hours for their turn to cross the tunnel. He said that recently many incidents of human tragedy occurred in the snow-clad area where no facility was available to the passengers especially women, children and the ailing persons. Mr. Ahmed said the Chitral Scouts will maintain the waiting room. He said that all the basic facilities required to the waiting persons have been made available in the waiting room named as ‘Chitral Shelter House’. Addressing on the occasion, Colonel Naeem Iqbal commended the efforts of SRSP chief executive Shahzada Masoodul Mulk and said the organization was engaged in development work in all sectors in the length and breadth of Chitral. Rahmat Ali Shah, a passenger, said the absence of toilets posed the greatest problem at the point and the people had to answer the call of nature in the open space which was covered with three to six feet of snow.–Zahiruddin]]>