Lowari tunnel will be opened this winter

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: The first phase of the Lowari tunnel project will be completed in the first week of December, which is likely to be opened for traffic after closure of the Lowari Pass in winter.
Talking to journalists at an Eid Milan party here on Monday, District Nazim Maghfirat Shah said completion of the project’s phase-I would be an historical day for Chitral, which would be celebrated as ‘thanksgiving day’.
He said the day would be declared a public holiday in the district and programmes would be arranged in Drosh, Chitral city and Booni. He said preparations had been started by the district government to celebrate the day in a befitting manner.
The nazim said the second phase of the project would commence soon. He said that in the previous years, the people of Chitral used to travel through the Kunar province of Afghanistan and the Mohmand Agency in winter due to closure of the Lowari Pass, but it would not be possible now due to the volatile situation both in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan.
He said the National Highway Authority high-ups had agreed to facilitate passengers through the under-construction tunnel after completion of its first phase. He said NHA buses would offer shuttle service to transport passengers through the tunnel, which would be available twice a day.