Murree tragedy: Administration issued alert for a week, says Fawad Ch

Kaldarna and Barian were the most affected areas and deaths were also reported in the same area.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that the administration had been issuing alert for the past one week and a large number of people came to Murree in a short time which caused problems.

Addressing a press conference along with Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood in Lahore on Saturday, he said that Murree administration and the Punjab government had been saying for a week that too many people were coming and appealed the people to review the travel calendar.

The minister said that during the last 48 hours, extraordinary and record-breaking snowfall was witnessed in Murree which led to the such a situation. He said Kaldarna and Barian were the most affected areas and deaths were also reported in the same area.

Fawad Ch said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed the Punjab Chief Minister to reach Murree immediately and the army was also called in, adding that the five army platoons were busy in conducting rescue operation, while FWO has also delivered all the machinery. 

The minister also appealed the public not to visit hilly areas and urged media to spread awareness in this regard.

He said as there is no capacity to deal with more rush of people, adding that record snowfall in Murree has caused this situation as rescuing affected people immediately is a tough task.

Expressing sorrow and grief over loss of precious human lives, he said all possible administrative measures are continuing to handle the situation. He, however, said the Murree tragedy being the first unusual situation, will teach us how to move ahead to avoid such happenings in future.

In his remarks, Minister for Federal Education said the government will not close educational institutions again following rising cases of Omicron in the country. He, however, made it clear that decision in this regard will be taken during the Education Ministers conference of all provinces.

Earlier in a Tweet, the information minister asked the people to postpone their upland tour plan for a few days. He said hundreds of thousands of vehicles are heading towards Murree and other high places and it has become impossible for local administration to provide facilities to such a large number of people.

Quoting Commissioner Murree, Information Minister Chaudhary Fawad Hussain in a tweet said Murree expressway has been cleared due to tireless efforts of the administration, and hundreds of vehicles have been diverted from Murree.

He said problems persist in Bariyan and Guldana areas. He said work is underway to repair the faulty transmission line , and the situation is constantly improving.