Murree's Mall Road closed for traffic amid snowfall forecast

Murree's Mall Road closed for traffic as Met office predicts snowfall

RAWALPINDI (Web Desk) - The traffic police have imposed a ban on entry of vehicles to the Mall Road in mountain resort city of Murree, taking preventive measures in the snowfall season. 

The police, in a statement, said 270 officials were deployed on various routes to maintain the traffic flow in the hill station which is visited by thousands of tourists during the snowfall seasons every year. 

Five lifters and one crane have also been deployed to clear the icy roads and curb no-parking in the areas, they said. The police said five roads had been declared one-way while a traffic control rom had been set up at Sunny Bank Chowk. They said checking points would also be established at all entry points during snowfall. 

Only mechanically-fit vehicles with licence-holder drivers would be allowed to enter Murree which has a capacity of parking of around 4,000 vehicles. A special schedule has ben announced for entry of heavy vehicles in the region. 

Meanwhile, the Met Office has predicted light to moderate rain with snowfall in Murree, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mardan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Bajaur, Kurram, Waziristan, Kohat, Sargodha, Islamabad, Galiyat and Pothohar region on the night of Dec 28 and 29. 

In January last, more than 20 tourists were frozen to death after hundreds of vehicles stranded in Murree during a snowstorm.