Kaghan receives snowfall

The upper parts of Kaghan Valley here received snowfall on Tuesday, suspending traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan through the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road.

“This year, we’d snowfall in parts of Kaghan Valley almost three to four weeks earlier than before it happened in previous years,” resident Babu Ashraf told Dawn.

He said the snowfall began in the early hours and continued intermittently throughout the day, bringing a chill to the weather.

Upper parts of the valley, including Babusar Top, Bessel, and Batakundi, received the heaviest snowfall, blocking the MNJ Road to traffic.

Traffic between KP, GB through MNJ Road suspended

Mr Ashraf said residents of Batakundi had yet to migrate to their winter destinations in lower parts of the Hazara Division.

“If the snowfall continues for a week or more, it can pose a challenge for Batakundi people,” he said.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall was reported in the upper parts of the Hazara Division.

The rain, which began in Mansehra, Torghar, Kolai-Palas, and Lower and Upper Kohistan early in the day, persisted intermittently.

The residents said streets were flooded as the nullahs and sewers along Abbottabad Road and Karakoram Highway became choked due to heavy rain.

BUS TERMINAL: On Tuesday, the district administration and tehsil municipal administration decided to establish a central bus terminal for interprovincial routes at the abandoned fruit and vegetable market.

“We are going to relocate interprovincial buses and coaches to the fruit and vegetable market, which has been abandoned since 2007,” tehsil municipal officer Mazhar Muzzaffar Awan told reporters here on Tuesday.

Assistant Commissioner (Central) Muniba Fatima, TMO Mr Awan, deputy superintendent of police (traffic) Arshad Khan, traffic police head Anas Khan, and representatives of the communication and works department and National Highway Authority visited the site of the abandoned market. She decided to relocate interprovincial bus and coach services to that area.

“This area, which is stretched over 36 canals of land and includes buildings and shops, will not only be brought into financial use but will also help address traffic congestion in the city and its suburbs,” Mr Awan said.

He said the government was keen to utilize that valuable piece of land commercially, as fruit and vegetable wholesalers had chosen to establish their own market instead of moving to that location in 2007.

“Since then, this valuable land has remained unused, with no commercial activities taking place here,” he said.

Mr Awan said the central terminal in the heart of the town was already congested, causing traffic and environmental issues.

“We will also widen the Pano Road, which connects the new terminal with the Karakoram Highway and Hazara Expressway, to ensure smooth flow of traffic and facilitate buses and coaches,” he said.