By Muhammad Luqman
Ajab Khan, a 22 year old from the Chhangla Gali, has found an opportunity to make money out of the snow that fell on this hill resort town of north-east Pakistan in the second week of December. He calls every tourist passing by the snow man and other sculptures made by him and asks them to pose with snow-carved art pieces for selifies and photography. For every five clicks, he demands Rs 100 rupee note. “ Out of every 10 tourists, six definitely heed to my advice. I earn almost Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 every day,” a jubilant Ajab tells. Snow man building is just one of hundreds of jobs the chilly weather brings to this part of the world. Hotel owners and transporters get the biggest chunk of the roaring business during chilly winter. A tourist has to pay almost triple for a small room during December while food sellers also make fortune during this period. Car and Jeep drivers good livelihood during three months. “ I usually earn upto Rs 100,00 to 200,000 per month during the winter season; But this windfall is just seasonal,” says Hamza Ali, a driver from Murree. However, these snowmen builders, drivers and hotel owners 50 kilometres long road that winds through hilly area of Galiyat and Murree seem worried about the decrease in the frequency of snow fall in the recent years. Murree, Ayubia and other parts of the north-eastern Pakistan did not receive a single flake of snow on Chirstmas eve this year. This is something unusual not only for the locals but also for thousands of people who flock from Lahore, Karachi and other parts of the down country to witness this majestic phenomenon. But to their disappointment, there was a sunny day in Murree and the adjoining areas on 25 December. This is the third consecutive year that there has been little snowfall during the last week of December. Tourists have to contend with the snow that fell over Murree and adjoining areas like Ayubia, Nathiagali, Jheeka Gali and Ghora Gali about ten days ago. One finds snow only at the places that are away from sun or at some comparatively higher altitude. In the recent past, it was but sure to see the flakes of snow falling on mountains, the roof tops and witnessing snowfall in this serene town was an annual feature for the people of the down-country areas of central Punjab and even those from extreme-South town of Karachi. But things have changed drastically. “ The erratic weather is mainly due to global warming; The change in the climate has equally affected plains and the highliands of the country,” says Muhammad Ajmal Shad, a Lahore-based meteorologist. Global warming has already led to shrinking of around 5000 small and big glaciers in northern areas of Pakistan, making the environmentalists and the meteorologists equally worried. Whatever people across world are doing to the environment, is taking toll on each and every human being without any discrimination. Environment experts believe that the economic well-being of the people of hilly tracts of Pakistan can only be ensured by not making climatic conditions worse.
