Town receives season's first snowfall; Lowari Pass closed

Photo courtesy: Darjat Muhammad @darjatmd[/caption] The snowfall in the town started at about 5am and at about 12:30pm it had stopped but clouds had descended into the area with mountains received almost two feet of snow. A Chitral Scouts official told ChitralToday correspondent Bashir Hussain Azad that the Lowari Top had closed for traffic after about three feet of snow on Thursday morning. About six vehicles trapped on the pass were rescued while some vehicles going out of the valley to different parts of the country were stopped in the Chitral side of the under-construction Lowari tunnel and may be allowed to cross the tunnel to proceed towards their destinations. Our Correspondent Munir Hussyn Fatemi reported from Kuragh in upper Chitral at about 12:30pm that snowfall started in the area at 8am and was continuing. Though mountains had received heavy snow, the Kuragh and other villages had by Thursday noon about two inch of snow. He said all roads between lower and upper Chitral were opened and traffic continued as usual. Some passengers reaching in Kuragh from Peshawar told ChitralToday that they waited for hours in front of the Lowari tunnel in Dir side as it was raining. But the staff there did not allow them to use the tunnel. At last they had to travel via the Lowari Top fearing for their life amid heavy snowfall. Akbar Ali from Dizg village in the Yarkhun valley told ChitralToday at 12:40pm that snowfall had also started in the area at about 12 noon and was continuing.[caption id="attachment_31615" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Two men trapped on Lowari pass.–Dawn[/caption] ]]>