MURREE,(Parliament Times): A day after the tragic deaths of more than 20 tourists in Murree, the authorities have removed snow from all the major roads to normalise traffic at the hill station, Punjab’s traffic police said Sunday morning.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Punjab police said that all the key arteries of the city have been cleared for traffic. Lawrence College Road and a section of the road between Jhika Gali and Lower Topa Express Highway have been reopened for traffic, he added.The spokesperson, however, said that roads leading to Murree from Islamabad and Rawalpindi will remain closed today. He said that police officials have been deployed on the roads to stop tourists from moving towards the hill station amid the current weather situation.
During the last 24 hours, over 500 families have been shifted to safe sites from the snowfall-affected Murree, the police said, adding that over 600 vehicles have been evacuated from the hill station till last night.The Punjab Police on Sunday said that more than 500 families in the calamity hit Murree were rescued and taken to safety in the last 24 hours, after at least 22 tourists stranded in their vehicles during a snowstorm died on Friday night.
According to police officials, all major highways in Murree have been cleared for traffic and about 600 to 700 vehicles were evacuated from the town last night.
Officials further stated that Rawalpindi police, district administration and the Pakistan Army soldiers remained active throughout the night.
“Heavy snowfall on Murree’s main highways caused 20 to 25 large trees to fall which had blocked roads. All tourists were rescued before nightfall and taken to safe places,” said Punjab Police spokesperson.
