Thousands stranded near Lowari tunnel

DROSH, Jan 24: Road blockade due to faulty trucks and mismanagement in the opening of the Lowari tunnel on Saturday caused traffic deadlocks on both sides of the passageway forcing thousands of passengers to remain stuck amid snow. It may be noted that the government has already announced the schedule for the opening of the tunnel on every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm. But the passengers said that till 11am the tunnel was not open. As a result, hundreds of vehicles coming from Islamabad and Peshawar to Chitral and those going out of Chitral remained stranded on both sides of the tunnel. Besides, faulty trucks also blocked the road at Ziarat where hundreds of vehicles were seen waiting on the road. A passenger coaster also developed fault at Batagram, blocking the road for hours. Till the afternoon, vehicles had not been allowed to cross the tunnel from the Dir side and there were reports that hundreds of passengers were stranded in the Dir side. Some of the passengers had arrived at upper Dir from Peshawar early on Saturday but they were also forced to wait for the opening of the tunnel for hours.–Munir Hussyn Fatimi]]>