News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) on Thursday advised the tourists visiting mountainous areas of the country during the ongoing snowy season to take extra precautionary steps to ensure personal and collective safety and avoid any untoward situation in extreme weather situations.
The tourism department along with other concerned departments have asked the visitors to dress in layers and wear a warm hat or cap, scarf, and gloves to protect their body from wind-chill or extreme cold. The tourists were also asked to not keep the vehicle engine running continuously and not switch on heaters for more than 10 minutes an hour.
PTDC Advisory for tourists
The official of PTDC advised travelers to keep vehicle windows slightly open for fresh air from outside or ventilation and ensure that the vehicle’s exhaust pipe is not blocked by ice, snow, or debris, and check once every hour to keep your exhaust cleared in snowy conditions.
Travelers must check for the latest travel and weather updates issued for the concerned and take appropriate precautionary measures before going out.
The travelers have been urged to avoid traveling in low visibility situations and during icy road conditions if possible. Before traveling the visitors must ensure the vehicle is properly serviced, including the heater, brakes, fog lights, and radiator, and replacing worn-out tires.
Other Basic Requirements
The guideline exhorted to keep required supplies in the vehicle when traveling for use in emergencies including additional warm clothing, warm blankets, water-proof matches or lighter, first aid kit, windshield ice-scraper, basic toolkit, booster cables, bag of sand or cat litter (to provide traction on ice or snow), snow chains, spare wheel or repair kit, dry food or fruits and drinking water.
The guidelines further noted that in-case vehicle was stranded or one was forced to pull over due to weather conditions, one should immediately contact the local helplines and control rooms for help.
It underscored that special focus must be given to elderly and children. The guideline issued by the concerned authorities emphasized that the cold-wave-like conditions and extremely low temperatures were being witnessed in northern areas of the country which could further accentuate in the days to come.
Just like every year, thousands of local and international tourists have started visiting the hilly areas in Pakistan to enjoy the enhanced charming beauty of natural scenes including lush green valleys, beautiful mountains, snow-covered peaks, meadows, lakes, and waterfalls during snowfall.
Despite the biting cold, like every year a great rush of tourists was experienced at popular tourist destinations including Murree, Malamjaba, Kalam, Dir Upper, Naran, Kaghan, Hunza, Ziarat, Chitral, and Kashmir.
