The Swat valley is in the grip of rough weather for the last two days, and the everyday life has come to a standstill. Heavy rains were reported in the entire valley, and traffic between Mingora city and Kalam was badly affected. Due to the heavy rainfall, the authorities closed the road from Madayan to Swat. The neighbouring mountains are all covered with several feet of snow, including places like Malam Jabba, Usho, Matiltan, Utror and Gabral. The new cold wave has intensified the already freezing winters in the area, restricting people’s daily activities. The provincial Education Department has not been able to conduct written tests scheduled for hiring 90 school teachers for Swat. Around 4,300 candidates had applied for the posts and the department had scheduled the test on Sunday at the Grassy Ground, where over 5,000 chairs had been placed for the candidates. Early on Sunday, the department officials moved the examination centre to a local college, but announced to postpone the test after finding insufficient capacity at the new venue. The new date would be announced later.
