KHYBER: Following significant snowfall that began on Sunday afternoon, the district administration was forced to use heavy equipment to clear snow off the roads leading to the Tirah Valley.
Locals informed Dawn that the heavy snowfall has blocked the routes to Bagh-Maidan Markaz in Arganga Top, Sarry Kandaw, Haider Kandaw, and Dwa Thoey, making it difficult to commute between these areas.
A resident of Malakdin Khel named Sharif Khan told Dawn that in order to prevent accidents, locals had to repeatedly clear snow from the rooftops of their homes.
Being a shopkeeper himself, he added that even though the valley’s largest market, the Bagh-Maidan Markaz, was open, locals opted to stay inside because connecting routes were closed. He claimed that this time of year, there had never been such a big snowfall for the locals.
According to Abdullah, a fellow local, this is only the third time that Tirah has seen snowfall this season—the previous two months were primarily dry.
He claimed that although Tirah used to get snowfall several times during the winter, they only received a small to moderate quantity during the first two of this year’s three snowfall episodes.
According to him, the valley’s inhabitants anticipated a scorching summer with a scarcity of water because there was less snowfall this year.
According to a statement released by Khyber House on Monday, there were intensive operations underway to remove snow from the roads at several points so that traffic could resume.
It stated that the department of works and communications had contributed by supplying road clearing equipment that was sent right away to the impacted areas.
