MANSEHRA: The Karakoram Highway was reopened to traffic on Tuesday after the company executing the Dasu hydropower project in Upper Kohistan district removed a massive landslide that blocked the road earlier this week.

“The removal of a large mass of dirt and rock from KKH has restored traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan,” Upper Kohistan deputy commissionerTariq Ali Khan told reporters on Tuesday.

The highway was blocked to all kinds of traffic following a landslide in the Bypass area of Upper Kohistan, and only light vehicles were allowed to pass through Kass Camp Bridge in a boundary area between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“As the weather cleared, we deployed heavy machinery to remove the dirt and rock, and the road is now reopened to both light and heavy traffic,” Mr Khan said.

He said that a portion of the mountain, which had developed dangerous cracks along the KKH, detached and fell into the Indus River.

“KKH is now fully open to traffic in Kohistan, but vehicular flow is low as this strategically important road was also blocked at several places in Gilgit-Baltistan due to heavy rainfall earlier this week,” he said.

Meanwhile, the artery connecting the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road with the tourist resort of Shogran was also cleared after the Kaghan Development Authority removed heavy snowfall from the area.

“We deployed machines to clear the road after removing snow,” KDA assistant director Asad Shahzad told reporters.

The sunny weather relieved residents from the biting cold, as the mountains near urban areas remained covered in heavy snow.

POLICE DEPLOYED: The police have beefed up security across Mansehra district by deploying both male and female personnel to prevent any untoward incidents during Ramazan.

“We have devised a comprehensive security plan for Ramazan and deployed women police constables to ensure safety of women shoppers during the fasting month,” DPO Shafiullah Khan Gandapur told reporters during a visit to local bazaars here on Tuesday.

The DPO visited various bazaars, checking the security measures implemented under his Ramazan security plan.

He interacted with shoppers and police personnel on Ramazan duty, distributing dates, drinks and other items for Iftar.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025