Chitral still cut-off, residents suffering in snowbound villages

Chitral remained cut off from rest of the country for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as local administration and other departments tried to remove snow from main roads to restore traffic.

Though people were reeling from the harsh weather conditions, there were no reports about any untoward incident from any part of Chitral.

On Wednesday evening, very few vehicles were seen plying in the Chitral town and nearby areas while the portion of the Chitral-Drosh road from town area to Jughoor was cleared of snow but remained very snowy and icy and dangerous for driving.

The bus stands in the town remained almost empty of transport vehicles and there was no traffic on Chitral-Drosh road and Chitral-Mastuj or Garam Chashma roads.

In a statement, the DC office of Lower Chitral said the avalanche that had blocked  the Chitral-Dir road in between the main and a small tunnels at Lowari had been cleared but the road was still closed due to heavy snow, especially from Baradam and Ashiret. People were seen travelling on foot towards Chitral from the tunnel side in the knee-deep snow.

Scores of vehicles were still said to be stranded on both sides of the tunnel and the DC office said food and relief items were being provided to the stranded passengers by the police, levies force and the administrations of Upper Dir and Lower Chitral.

The DC office of Upper Chitral in a separate statement said all roads to different areas, except to Torkhow, were reopened and work to remove snow from the Torkhow was underway.

It also said the power utility department had been directed to expedite work to restore electricity supply to different areas.

However, people of Upper Chitral told ChitralToday that the roads were still snowbound and traffic was yet to be restored even between villages. There were no reports about the situation in Broghil valley which remains cut off for many weeks.