The caretaker government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has directed authorities to inspect all chairlifts installed in the province and conduct safety audits following the cable car incident in Battagram. A chairlift got stranded hundreds of feet above the ground midway through its journey across a valley on Tuesday morning as children were making their way to school inside the pod in Allai Tehsil.
The dramatic and dangerous rescue began with army helicopters and SSG commandos saving two children via a sling, with locals joining in for the ground operation which began when darkness fell. The rescuers used a cable as a zipline to rescue the remaining people later in the night.
Directives from the provincial government were issued on Tuesday after the rescue operation was completed, asking all the deputy commissioners in KP to carry out a safety audit of chairlifts within their jurisdictions.
It further instructed them to immediately check chairlifts at all commercial, domestic and recreational places, adding that the inspection of cable cars installed over rivers and canals should also be done by the relevant authorities.
DCs have to submit a report within a week after reviewing the design, capacity and safety measures of all chairlifts.
It has also been made mandatory to get a No Objection Certificate from the district administration before the installation of cable cars.
