Daily Times

UPPER DIR: Routine life paralysed in Upper Dir after receiving a new spell of snowfall and rain as mountainous areas including Lowari top, Kumrat, Thal, Kalkot, DoogDara and others of the district on Saturday have received heavy snowfall while the plain areas received rain after which weather turned into chill.

The snowfall in Lowari Top and other areas started on the night on Friday which continued on Saturday.

Dir and its surrounding areas also received heavy snowfall which was started on Saturday’s morning and continued all the day with intervals. The Dir and its adjacent areas also received from six to eight inches of snowfall.

According to locals and tunnel sources the Lowari top had received up to four feet snowfall while Lowari Tunnel has received two feet of snowfall. The Lowari Top road was still closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall while the road leads to Lowari tunnel remained closed to traffic owing to hit avalanches in two places in Nehergah and Maina. Sources of the Lowari Tunnel said that there was no chance of clearing avalanches’ material from road and it open to traffic at least till stoppage of snowfall.

Similarly many links roads in the remote Kohistan valley, DoogDara, Gowaldi, Patrak, Ganshal, tehsil Brawal and other areas were also closed to traffic after received heavy snowfall. The electricity of the various areas including Dir, Panakot, Qashqari, Qulandi, Duro, Sheringal, Brawal, DoogDara and others suspended for two days and still could not restored. Due to which inhabitants of those areas were suffering from its suspension as charges in emergency lights, UPSs, cell phones and other equipment ended.

The WAPDA department couldn’t able of restoring the electricity of the Dir city and other plain areas which received a modest snowfall. The weather turned into chill even in the Dir city the residents stayed at homes due to chilly weather. And most of the bazars and markets received low amount of customers and business activities also remained limited.