The federal government has deployed the personnel of the Pakistan Army and other civil-armed forces after 16-19 people died in their vehicles in Murree due to heavy snowfall in the hill station.
All the routes in Murree were blocked after thousands of vehicles entered the city, leaving the tourists helpless on the roads.
In a video message, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Saturday said Murree had “seen a huge number of tourists after 15-20 years”, and due to that, a crisis took place.
Rasheed said the government was forced to close the road from Islamabad to Murree. “Islamabad and Rawalpindi’s commissioners, deputy commissioners, police, are carrying out rescue works.”
The interior minister said five platoons of the Pakistan Army have been called in for rescue efforts, while Rangers and Frontier Corps will be deployed on an emergency basis.
“As many as 1,000 vehicles have been stuck since night […] some have been evacuated; 16-19 deaths took place in cars. The locals provided food and blankets to the stranded people.”
The interior minister said the authorities would evacuate 1,000 vehicles by today evening, while the roads would remain closed to Murree till tomorrow at 9 pm.
“We have also decided to ban tourists who are planning on coming to Murree by walk; this is not the time to come to Murree,” Rasheed said.
Punjab govt declares Murree calamity-hit area
The Punjab government has declared Murree as a calamity-hit area after heavy snowfall wreaked havoc in the city. Taking notice of the chaos and emergency situation, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed to open the government’s offices and rest houses for the stranded tourists
وزیراعلیٰ پنجاب نے مری میں ایمرجنسی نافذ کر دی
— Government of Punjab (@GovtofPunjabPK) January 8, 2022
پولیس، انتظامیہ، ریسکیو 1122 اور ہسپتالوں میں ہنگامی حالت کا نفاذ کیا گیا ہے
ریسکیو کےلیے فوج اور رینجرز کےدستے بھی طلب کر لیےگئے
چیف سیکرٹری، IG پولیس، ریلیف کمشنر، DG ریسکیو اور PDMA کو ریسکیو سرگرمیوں کی خود مانیٹرنگ کی ہدایت
He directed to provide every possible relief to the tourists and accelerate the ongoing rescue operation to evacuate the people from the hill station.
The chief minister ordered to move additional resources from Rawalpindi and other cities to Murree to speed up the relief operation.
CM Buzdar was also directed to send his official helicopter to Murree for the rescue mission.
Snowstorm
According to the local administration, rain and blizzards are forecast tonight in and around Murree, with thunderstorms at a speed of 50-90 kmph and heavy snowfall.
The administration has warned the citizens not to leave their homes in severe weather or turn to Murree as severe weather conditions are likely to continue till late at night.
Tourists throng to Murree
For the last two days, continuous snowfall has been taking place in Murree, and with that, hundreds of thousands of tourists are heading towards the town.
Geo News, citing officials, reported that an estimated 125,000 vehicles have entered the city so far, due to which severe traffic jam was witnessed on the roads. In view of the emergency situation, the administration has decided to close all the roads leading to Murree.
Rawalpindi deputy commissioner has confirmed that that the road leading to the tourist site has been closed at Bhara Kahu tool plaza to deal with the situation.
Thousands of tourists, including women and children, have been trapped on the roads in the area since last night. Officials of the traffic police, however, were making their efforts to restore the flow of traffic on the roads.
The tourists have demanded of the government to help evacuate them from the area.
Taking to Twitter, Rawalpindi deputy commissioner said, “Around 23000 vehicles have been evacuated safely from Murree. Around 1000 are still stranded.”
He maintained that the district admin is working round the clock to evacuate the remaining vehicles safely.
Govt appeals to postpone plan for a few days
Earlier, Sheikh Rasheed had appealed to the tourists, especially families, to refrain from travelling to Murree and Galyat.
He had maintained that the tourists will not be allowed to go beyond 17 Mile Interchange. However, citizens with an extreme emergency will be granted permission to travel to Murree and Galyat.
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Taking to Twitter, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that a large number of vehicles were heading towards Murree and other hilly areas, adding that it was impossible for the local administration to facilitate them. He urged the people to postpone their plan for a few days.
