Construction in areas prone to avalanches should be avoided, Shabir Khan, the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) director general, said as hotels and houses remain buried under the snowslide after the collapse of two glaciers in Naran.
“Village elders [locally called amaideen] of Naran who are well aware of such incidents will be consulted and their help will be sought to save investors from big losses in future,” he told reporters in the popular tourist resort in the Mansehra district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
His statement comes days after a video that went viral on social media showed several hotels and houses covered by a mass of snow, ice, and rocks.
Naran in the upper Kaghan Valley is one of the most popular tourist attractions locally as well as internationally. But the road to Naran closes in November due to snowfall and reopens in April or May, depending on the weather.
Khan was of the view that construction in safe places could be encouraged by modern technology and Google mapping which would be part of the long-term planning of the KDA.
The damage occurred in Chapra Naran and Gamla Jheel Road. According to locals, dozens of buildings were damaged in the avalanche.
At least 70 hotels are located in the Gamla Jheel Road area, they added while the KDA DG maintained that the compensation amount would be given after estimating the exact amount of the loss.
Locals added that such snow slips were common in the area and there was no loss of live in the one that occurred earlier this week.
Khan said that the rescue work and the KDA’s machine would enter the area once the road is clear. A committee has been formed to estimate the losses incurred by investors, he added.
