RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has asked provincial departments and the district administration officials in Murree to coordinate with each other so that tourists and locals remain safe during snowfall.

Punjab Secretary Tourism Asia Gul along with Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Saqib Manan reviewed the arrangements made for the convenience of tourists in Murree.

The arrangements were to be made by the district administration in the wake of expected rains and the snowfall spell in the coming days.

Representatives of all departments have been assigned their responsibilities. Clearance of roads will be the responsibility of the highway department whereas clearance of the Expressway will be on National Highways Authority (NHA).The forest department will ensure thetrimming and clearance of fallen trees and Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC)will clean the city’s streets.

Motorway police will perform duties of the traffic management on the Expressway while traffic management and parking on all other roads will be the responsibility of the traffic police.

The district administration is trying to protect tourists from agents, hotels and chain mafia.

A central control room and 13 facilitation centres have been set up for the convenience of tourists, besides 30 CCTV cameras have been installed for continuous monitoring and live streaming.

A control room will be functional 24/7 to ensure that tourists are provided with the necessary assistance as well as full redressal of their complaints. Medical facilities are also being provided by Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) hospital, Murree and Combined Military Hospital (CMH).

According to the contingency plan, most of the focus is on snow removal and traffic management. Entry to Murree is being regulated so that no more than 8,000 vehicles enter there.

In this meeting held at the commissioner’s office Rawalpindi, director development Nazia Sudhan, Deputy Commissioner (Murree) Ahmed Hasan Ranjha, Assistant Director Moazzam Ali, Assistant Director (Tourism Department) Zahid Khan were present.

Asia Gul further said that climate change has affected the traditional weather patterns of our region due to which we need to be more alert. “Although there is no control on natural calamities, we can reduce the rate of loss by providing citizens assistance in time,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Met Office has predicted more rain in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and snowfall in Murree, respectively.

The official said that a westerly wave was affecting upper parts of the country and likely to persist till Friday. He said that rain is expected in northeast Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad and Potohar region.

“Moderate to heavy rain/snowfall is expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murree and Galiyat during the period. Dense foggy conditions are likely over plain areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh,” he said.

On Thursday, rain recorded in Murree was 3mm, Zero Point (2mm), Golra, Bokra (1mm) in Islamabad and Rawalpindi Kacheri (1mm). Snowfall recorded in Murree and Kalam was 5 inches and 16 inches in Malam Jabba.

The met office recorded the lowest temperature’s in Ziarat -12°C, Leh -10°C, Kalat -8°C, Gupis -7°C, Kalam -6°C, Quetta, Parachinar -5°C, Malam Jabba, Hunza -4°C and Murree -3°C.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2023