MANSEHRA: The Kaghan Development Authority began removing glaciers from roads in the Kaghan Valley here on Wednesday for visitor safety.

“We cut seven glaciers along the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road and Lake Road in the Kaghan Valley as they became hollow due to the rapid melting of snow in the hot weather,” KDA assistant director Asad Shahzad Khan told reporters.

He said the glacier removal was planned for visitor safety after two tourists from Punjab were buried alive when a hollow glacier collapsed on the Saiful Muluk Road earlier this week.

Mr Khan said the incident occurred despite the cutting of such glaciers twice in the current season and the police’s deployment to restrict visitor access.

KDA official says initiative meant for visitors’ safety

He said hollow glaciers were removed from Sarmai Road, Chitta Khatta Road, Goria Road, Saiful Muluk Road and three other roads.

“We’ve planned to cut down more than 30 small and large glaciers in Kaghan Valley,” he said.

The official said the rest of glaciers along the MNJ Road up to Babusar Top would be removed by the National Highway Authority.

Mr Khan said the MNJ Road, which linked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gilgit-Baltistan, fell into the NHA’s domain, so the KDA took up the issue of glacier removal with it for early action.

As large avalanches damaged over two dozen hotels, huts and other structures in Naran, the commercial hub of Kaghan Valley, earlier this year, the provincial government formed a technical committee to look into the incident.

However, the panel has yet to release its report.

KILLED: A girl was found dead in Balakot city here on Wednesday.

Police shifted the body to a local health centre for identification and medico-legal formalities, according to investigation officer Munir Khan.

He told reporters that the Padina Bela area spotted the body and informed police about it.

Mr Khan said the girl was strangled after torture and the doctors had conducted postmortem on it.

He, however, said the postmortem report would reveal if the girl was sexually assaulted before being killed.

“After examining the girl’s clothes and shoes, we think she’s likely to be a resident of a nearby village,” he said.

Mr Khan said he hoped for early arrest of culprits.

conference: Speakers at a conference on Wednesday urged archaeologists and academia to work together for the discovery and preservation of British-era archaeological and heritage sites in the country.

“The British period in the Indian sub-continent left a deep impact on our architecture and culture. We should explore and preserve all archaeological and heritage sites,” vice- chancellor of the Hazara University Dr Mohsin Nawaz told a conference on “British era archaeology and heritage” in the university’s auditorium.

Archaeologists from national and international universities presented papers on the occasion.

Provincial director (archaeology and museums) Dr Abdul Samad said the sub-continent, especially Pakistan, had visible traces of the British era’s architecture.

He briefed participants about the measures taken by his department for the discovery of archaeological sites in the province.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024