Hundreds stranded at Lowari tunnel

Photo: Sher Zaman[/caption] One of the passengers going to Peshawar along with his family said they were not allowed to cross the under-construction tunnel after the closure of the Lowari top road. He said that hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the Chitral side of the tunnel under heavy rain/snowfall. Meanwhile, a large number of passengers, including women and children, were also not allowed to cross the tunnel at the Dir side as rain/snowfall closed the Lowari pass. The passengers were caught unaware of the closure due to the sudden snowfall and expressed anguish over the Lowari tunnel staff’s attitude towards them. They said the authorities concerned should resolve the matter on a humanitarian basis. It may be noted that the KP government recently issued a notification that the Lowari tunnel would be opened twice a week, on every Tuesday and Friday, after the closure of the Lowari top road. But the passengers said that the staff at the tunnel were not ready to even listen to them, adding that they had no order to open the tunnel as construction work was going on inside.]]>