MURREE: With the first snowfall in Murree on early Monday morning, domestic tourists mainly from twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have started visiting the hills to enjoy views of snow-covered hill tops.
The number of visitors normally multiplies at the weekends at Murree hills and its adjoining areas with the first snowfall.
An official of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) said, “Thousands of tourists visit to enjoy the first snowfall of the winter at Pindi Point, Kashmir Point, the Mall and Ayubia. Murree’s adjoining areas like Galiyat, Bhurban, Ayubia and Nathiagali also get a large influx of visitors due to snowfall”.
He said PTDC facilitates tourists during tourist seasons and has also announced discount packages to attract them.
“The PTDC is also in touch with local administration for the maintenance of traffic,” he added.
At this time of year, all restaurants get packed with tourists and the demand for winter clothes also goes up, as mercury falls below the freezing point.
Murree Chief Traffic Officer Muhammad Bin Ashraf said the Traffic Police has directed to deploy more staff at Murree to control the traffic situation while a traffic advisory has also been issued.
According to the advisory, the visitors should come with a maintained car battery in good condition as the old batteries do not work in intense cold. A helpline number has also setup for assistance of tourists.
Talking to APP, Traffic Police Sub-Inspector Murree Muhammad Imran said, “we are completely connected with Highway Department of Murree with snow-bikers patrolling in the area to avoid any mishap and we are fully equipped to control any situation in the area”.
