Ban on entry to Dir scenic spots disappoints tourists.

UPPER DIR -- Hundreds of tourists from across the country, who had come to visit picturesque spots in Upper Dir including Kumrat, Lowari and Usheri Darra, went back disappointed as they were not allowed to enter the district.

The provincial government and district administration imposed ban on visiting tourist destinations during Eidul Fitr vocations due to Covid-19 pandemic. However, tourists from all over the country started coming to district on second day of Eidul Fitr.

Long queues of vehicles were witnessed at every checkpost including entry points Akhgram, Chukiatan, Jetkot, Lowari tunnel and others. The tourists as well as the local people waited for long at the checkposts.

Many of them spent nights at checkposts because they were not allowed to visit Kumrat and others tourist spots. Some of them exchanged harsh words with Levies and police personnel deployed at the checkpoints.

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The tourists said that government and district administration had not announced the ban before Eid otherwise they would not have come to the area.

Many of the tourists said that social distancing measures could be observed in Kumrat because it was a vast area where hundreds of thousands people could be easily accommodated without coming close to each other.

A tourist, who was stopped at Akhgram, said that he and his friends came on motorbikes from Lahore to visit the scenic valley of Kumrat.

However, they were...