Tourists throng Murree to enjoy snowfall

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of tourists from various parts of the country thronged Murree and Galliyat on Sunday to enjoy the snowfall over the hills.

Murree, Kalam and Parachinar received six inches snow on Sunday while it was recorded 18 inches in Malam Jabba, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

There was almost no place for parking at the hilly station.

The Mall, the central place in Murree, was flooded with tourists and hotels and restaurants were doing roaring business due to the chilly weather.

The hotels were booked to capacity while people looked for seats in restaurants for tea and meal. Those who were fortunate to get seats in the restaurants preferred to spend maximum time inside to avoid the chilly wind.

"It has been noted that two to three rainy spells along with heavy snowfall mostly occurred on weekends, prompting us to plan a trip to Murree to enjoy the vegaries of weather," a group of young students shared excitedly with APP.

Youngsters and children were enthusiastically busy in activities like making snowman, throwing snowballs and taking memorable pictures of the snow-covered valley.

A Met Office official said that the western disturbance is affecting western and upper parts of the country and likely to persist for next 24-48 hours.

Under the influence of this weather system, scattered rain and snowfall over hills is expected in upper Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir on Monday.

Scattered rain is expected in upper Punjab including Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Islamabad divisions while mainly cold and dry weather in most parts of Sindh and Balochistan during next 24 hours.

The rainfall recorded during last 24 hours was: Parachinar 22 mm, Balakot 12 mm, Pattan, Bhakkar and Dir 9 mm each, Rawalakot 8 mm, Lower Dir and Garidopatta 6 mm each, Kalam 5 mm, Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Kakul 4 mm each, Chitral, Quetta, Saidu Sharif,
Sialkot and Chakwal 3 mm each. (APP)