ABBOTTABAD, Jan 23: Northern districts of the NWFP received heavy snowfall and rain on Friday which continued till Saturday evening, bringing down the mercury level to near zero on Celsius scale.

The hilly areas of the Abbottabad district recorded three to four feet snow especially Thandiynai, Nathiagali and Ayubia. But the district headquarters received only six inches snow during Eid days.

The heavy snowfall blocked the Abbottabad-Murree road for all vehicular traffic from Nathiagali to Barrian and the Frontier Highway officials remained busy to clear the road.

Tourists, who visited Abbottabad, made their way to Nathiagali on Sunday after the road was cleared, but the Thandiynai road from Kala Pani remained closed.

A large number of people, especially government employees who came from other parts of the country to celebrate Eid with their families, could not join their duties on Monday due to the closure of link roads in Galyat and Thandiynai.

HARIPUR: Several villages of Haripur district received winter's first snowfall after a decade. Light rain coupled with snowfall lashed most of the hilly areas of the district during the Eid days.

Baldhair, Bagra, Chajjian, Ghumawan, Trimkan, Saral, Siribang, Jabb, Sanjliala, Kohala, Nathokhaitar, Changi Bandi, Margala hills and some villages situated close to Koh-i-Gangar received snowfall after a long break.

MANSEHRA: The Mansehra town and adjoining areas received snowfall after seven years. People had witnessed the last snowfall on January 14, 1998. The snowfall in Kaghan valley was recorded three to four feet where the road has been blocked near Shino Trout Hitchery.

Three to four feet snowfall was also recorded in Battal and Chattar areas of Konsh valley where the Karakoram Highway (KKH) has been blocked near Sharkool rest house.