MANSEHRA: Thousands of tourists have been stranded in picturesque Kaghan valley after landslides blocked Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road at various places on Saturday night.

The heavy water gushing from high mountains inundated the main valley road in Safid Khatta, blocking it to all sort of traffic. The hoteliers association had reopened road at two places at Safid Khatta late in the night but fresh landslide in the wee hours of Sunday blocked it again, causing a traffic mess. “Thousands of tourists have been stranded and long queues of vehicles can be seen on Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road as National Highway Authority has failed to remove boulders and mudslides yet,” a tourist told reporters on telephone from Kaghan valley.

He said that women and children were suffering and it seems that administration was least interested to control the situation.“The tourists stranded in long queues of vehicles will face shortage of eatables if the NHA fails to reopen the road to traffic,” he said. Bushra Bibi, a tourist from Abbottabad who is stranded along with her family, told reporters that the NHA was not committed in reopening the road to traffic.

“Thousands of tourists are present in the valley but all landslide-prone areas are without excavators. I have never seen such huge influx of tourists to any resort as I have witnessed here but mismanagement has marred the enjoyment of tourists,” she maintained.

She said that the hoteliers were also fleecing visitors as rent of a single room had crossed Rs10,000. “Government should also keep a check on these things and facilitate the people coming here to enjoy the picturesque valley,” said Bushra.

Matiullah, the president of hoteliers association in Naran, told reporters that they had reopened the road at night on self-help basis. “We have been making all possible efforts to provide better services to tourists coming here but the landslide caused a little embarrassment, which we are striving to overcome,” he added.