Major highways cleared, Murree continues to recover from snowstorm tragedy

After about a week of sunshine in Murree

MURREE: A day after the tragic deaths of more than 23 tourists in Murree, the authorities have removed snow from all the major roads to normalise traffic at the hill station, Punjab’s traffic police said Sunday morning.

After about a week of sunshine in Murree, traffic has been restored on all the main highways of the tourist destination.

Roads in the upper parts of Murree are still closed to traffic, rural areas have been without power for four days, while urban areas have been restored overnight.

Due to stagnant water in the pipelines, tourists and locals are facing difficulties.

Mobile phone service in and around Murree has also been severely affected, while internet service has been suspended in the city.

According to a spokesperson of Galyat Development Authority (GDA), an operation is underway to remove snow from the main highway in Galyat.

A spokesperson for the Punjab police said in a statement that all the key arteries of the city have been cleared for traffic. Lawrence College Road and a section of the road between Jhika Gali and Lower Topa Express Highway have been reopened for traffic, he added.

Army called out in Murree as over 16 people die in snowfall

The spokesperson, however, said that roads leading to Murree from Islamabad and Rawalpindi will remain closed today. He said that police officials have been deployed on the roads to stop tourists from moving towards the hill station amid the current weather situation.

During the last 24 hours, over 500 families have been shifted to safe sites from the snowfall-affected Murree, the police said, adding that over 600 vehicles have been evacuated from the hill station till last night.

Heavy snowfall makes emergency situation in Murree: Armed forces sought to rescue tourists