By Zahiruddin  

CHITRAL, Jan 27, 2010: With the opening of the uncompleted Lowari tunnel for public for two hours daily in winter, the residents of Chitral can now travel to other parts of the country without facing the problems they earlier used to during closure of the Lowari Pass.

The local people said closure of the Lowari Pass used to cut the residents of the district from other areas for five months a year. They said that during the last 60 years, more than one thousand people had been killed while trying to cross the Lowari Pass.

The residents said the opening of the tunnel for public had brought relief to the people.Earlier, the only source to travel to other parts of the country in winter was PIA ATR flights, but it was also weather dependent. The residents said that during the closure of the Lowari Pass, commodities of daily use also ran short in the district and the situation was exploited by traders who hoarded items and then sold them at higher prices.

They also referred to the collapse of the postal system in Chitral due to cancellation of PIA flights, which further caused disruption of official business both in private and government offices and hundreds of people missed their examinations and interviews. A large number of patients, they said, died while being shifted to Peshawar for treatment.--Dawn