FWO lauded for Lowari Tunnel management

Chitral-- Lowari Tunnel after being handed over to the Army Engineering organisation FWO has become functional and traffic flows unhindered in both directions throughout the day. The previous sadistic arrangement  made by the NHA in league with SAMBU was designed to torture the passengers by making them wait at the sides of the tunnel for hours on end and being allowed to pass through the tunnel in a convoy for only two hours during the day, was also against security principles and procedures.

Wg Cdr (r) Fardad Ali Shah, in a statement said that he had been crying hoarse for the last three years for this present arrangement but Chitrali politicians did not support him for fear of annoying NHA authorities. He said the NHA and SAMBU management were not people friendly and wanted to make travelling through the Lowari tunnel difficult at all costs to magnify their importance and press for more funds.

He thanked the FWO management for doing the needful, by simply filling the ditches and puddles and making the Lowari tunnel convenient to travel through without being held up at the mouth. It may be pointed out that now an average vehicle crosses the tunnel in 15-20 minutes as against 35-40 minutes last year and the flow is smooth and continuous throughout the day in both directions, with vehicles conveniently crossing each other.  He demanded that the small tunnel also be opened for public travel forthwith so that travel problems of Chitralis are mitigated and price of goods freight comes down..  --CN report, 09 Dec 2011

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