Daily Times

Murree is located on the Pir Panjal Range within the Murree Tehsil at a distance of 70 kilometers from the capital city Islamabad in the northeast. It is known as a popular hill station of Pakistan with having steep hills and valleys with an altitude of 7,400 feet (2,240 meters). It was built in the 19th century by the British as a medical base for its colonial troops. Murree attracts almost one million tourists annually to enjoy the cold pine forests and magnificent mountain scenery just within an hour’s drive away from the capital.

Recently, Murree received a snowstorm that caused the loss of 22 lives in their cars stranded in the snow. Almost four feet of snow trapped the vehicles creating immobility under the minus 8 degree Celsius temperature. Soon afterward, Murree was declared a calamity-hit area. Despite heavy snow warnings from the Pakistan Meteorological Department between January 6 and 9 in Murree and Galiyat, the number of tourists kept on increasing that led to a total catastrophe. According to the official figures by the office of Chief Minister Punjab, almost 157,665 vehicles had entered the city between Friday and Saturday (January 6 and 7, 2022) at the start of snowfall. The roads of almost half of Murree from Ghora Gali, Bansara Gali, Sunny Bank, Kuldana, Kashmir Point, Jhika Gali, Barian, Nathia Gali, and Darya Gali were reported jam-packed with traffic on the evening of January 7 on television channels from time to time.

Routes to Rawalpindi were seen blocked after thousands of vehicles entered the city leaving tourists in a helpless situation. On seeing the situation, the state of emergency was declared by the Punjab government in hospitals, administration offices, and police stations. Murree received a huge number of tourists after 15 to 20 years according to Information Minister Sheikh Rashid and this caused the chaotic situation. Therefore, the roads were forcibly closed from Islamabad to Murree to stop the flow of tourists on January 8.

The tragedy has reflected the lack of preparedness and planning for the safety of the citizens.

By looking at the situation, emergency military help was initiated on January 8 evening for the stranded vehicles in the snow. During the emergency relief, 22 deaths were reported in which 10 men, 10 children, and 2 women were included. Later on, they were reported dead due to hypothermia (a few of them due to carbon monoxide poisoning) that occurred after a long period of running vehicles’ heaters. The blockages of vehicles’ exhaust with snow caused the carbon monoxide to circulate within the vehicles suffocating the passengers. In facilitating the stranded tourists, five relief camps were set up by Army at Military College, Jhika Gali, APS Kuldana, Station Supply Depot, and Sunny Bank. The stranded tourists were taken into the relief camps and provided them medication with food. The worst traffic jam was observed in the mentioned areas.

Side by side, it was seen that army engineers and troops continued their rescue operation by clearing the roads with heavy machinery and making the traffic movable. The army again came into the crisis and came up with full facilitation. The videos and interviews were heard on different platforms, where people were praising the army and criticizing the local government for not reaching them in time despite reminders. On the other hand, there are stories of selfishness, where people were stranded in snow for many hours. At that time, the local sellers thought of making money by considering the best time of gaining profit. It was reported and heard on different platforms that a local room at a few hotels of Rs. 3000 per night on regular days went for Rs 40-50 thousand rupees per night. A boiled egg was being given on Rs 500, and a local small pack of biscuits was Rs 300. Chain rental for vehicles’ tires went for Rs 3000 per car to toe it for a few miles. Such inhumane behaviour was noticed that even heard that some women had to survive by selling their jewelry for surviving the crisis to get a safer shelter. Few exemplary responses from local people are also there, who initiated help by giving shelter to many and provided food and necessities per requirements without any charges. The determination and goodwill gesture of these people are highly appreciated, who stepped forward for saving their fellow citizens at the time of need instead of looking for any favor in return.

The local administration was heard being blamed on various platforms for not rescuing the stranded people on roads despite calls of emergencies. The government has taken an inquiry on the tragic incident and seen taken action on the inefficiency and irresponsibility of different administrations’ employees. The tragedy has reflected the lack of preparedness and planning for the citizens. Eyebrows have been raised on the performance of the disaster management authorities, district administration, traffic police, and other government departments. The weather warnings were there from the department, and it is also true that tourists also didn’t pay attention to those warnings. The sense of responsibility also comes on the citizens. They are suggested to work on their movement before departing to the hilly areas especially in winters. The ignorance, irresponsibility towards safety measures, and improper dressing for such a cold area are recommended to be kept in mind. Murree has always been a busy hilly resort with heavy traffic all around the year. This year, the weather warnings were ignored by the administration, the roads towards Murree were not blocked or closed down on these warnings. The citizens were supposed to be informed and stopped as a large number of vehicles were entering the city via toll plaza that was exceeded the capacity limit of parking in Murree. Secondly, another loose loophole was seen from the administration side as they did not have heavy equipment to clear the roads where fallen trees and piles of snow couldn’t able to be removed. The rescue operation was initiated the next day in the morning on January 7 by the local administration after the deadly snowstorm but those were not enough due to lack of handling the crisis and the army had to intervene.

On the other side, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar acted on the negligence of authorities after the investigation and announced 17.6 million as compensation to the deceased families. Action over the inhumane behavior on raising the prices was also seen. The hotels’ owners found involved in the ill practice were placed behind the bars. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) also chipped in the situation by issuing free credits on the cells to those who were out of balance in that situation. Additionally, the Punjab government has announced to make Murree a separate district within Punjab with two new police stations and two parking plazas at the busiest spots of Murree. It is a good initiative by the government to come up with more facilities for the citizens in catering and responding to them in any situation. Now eyes are on the government, how the said initiatives will be implemented.

The voices of people were heard when videos were uploaded and floated from the disaster area on different social platforms. Till then, 155,000 cars were reported by AC Murree entered the city where only 35,000 parking spaces were available. Huge chaos, jammed traffic, and families in pitiful and heartbreaking conditions were found stranded on the roads without any help for long. By leaving stuck cars in the middle of roads, people also made it difficult for the management in clearing the traffic. In a nutshell, the responsibility comes on citizens and administration together. The understanding of the issues from both sides will be able to run the system smoothly and efficiently. The citizens should make themselves aware of the weather before departing to any hilly area, especially in winter to avoid an unexpected situation. On the larger side, the local administration should be kept vigilant, equipped, trained, and efficient enough to deal with these sorts of conditions. A strict check and balance are required by the government authorities for the smooth functioning of concerned departments to deal with these sorts of issues in time before converting into a disaster. When the state issues regulations and laws and implements them, then there is no choice for citizens to follow. So, there is a time to act responsibly and honestly towards ones’ duty for whom he is selected and appointed.

The writer is a researcher and columnist from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. She can be contacted at saira.asad2011@gmail.com.