CHITRAL: The Lawari tunnel was not opened for passengers on Tuesday due to which hundreds of passengers remained stranded on both sides of the tunnel at upper Dir and Chitral.
According to a National Highway Authority (NHA) spokesman, the main land route connecting Chitral to other parts of the country had been blocked at Lawari top due to heavy snowfall, with commuters being facilitated in travelling through Lawari tunnel on Friday and Tuesday i.e. twice a week.
As Tuesday was considered a routine day for the opening of the tunnel, hundreds of passengers, from Peshawar to upper Dir, reached the location but were left disappointed after finding out that the tunnel road had not been cleared for vehicular traffic.
A Chitrali passenger from Dir told media that a heated exchange had also occurred between passengers and Dir police.
The spokesman added that due to heavy snowfall and bad weather, snow could not be removed from the road timely, with 107 Engineering bulldozers engaged in removing the snow from the tunnel road.
In case the road was not cleared on the day, passengers would be allowed to travel via Lawari tunnel on Wednesday, he added.
Passengers coming from Peshawar to Chitral who were besieged at upper Dir, said that more than 400 vehicles had reached Dir but there was no shelter facility installed for them, especially for women folk and children.
They demanded that the NHA announce and inform passengers at the Peshawar and Chitral bus stand, in case of the blocking of Lawari tunnel, to not travel before.
A child had died last Friday at the Lawari tunnel road due to the severe cold weather after passengers were forced to stay there for more than 48 hours.
