https://arab.news/w9cpr
- 22 tourists died trapped in cars last week after snowstorm clogged roads and trapped people overnight in freezing weather
- Stranded tourists share videos on social media saying hotels took advantage of their misery, charged exorbitant rates
ISLAMABAD: Authorities have sealed more than a dozen hotels in the resort town of Murree, local media reported on Wednesday, for overcharging tourists during a snowstorm last week.
Twenty-two tourists died trapped in their cars last Saturday after a storm clogged roads and stranded tourists overnight in freezing weather.
Police said some of the victims froze to death in their cars, while others died from asphyxiation after inhaling exhaust fumes in snow-bound vehicles.
Videos of tourists stranded in Murree during the snowstorm circulated on social media, with many saying hotels in the resort town had taken advantage of stranded people and overcharged them.
One tourist who managed to leave Murree before the storm began said hotels that normally charged Rs4,000 for a night were demanding up to Rs20,000 for rooms that didn’t even have heaters.
“The Assistant Commissioner of Murree has sealed hotels located on Kuldana Road, Upper Jhika Gali Road, Bank Road and Abu Dhabi Road after receiving complaints on social media of overcharging and other offenses,” the deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi said on Twitter.
Rawalpindi police also said they had arrested a man for swindling stranded tourists.
According to a tweet by Rawalpindi police, the suspect would deliberately shovel snow onto the roads so cars would get trapped.
“When vehicles would get stuck, he would ask for a significant amount of money in return for towing the car with the help of his jeep,” police said.
On Tuesday, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain told reporters the government was introducing new tourist laws and would ‘revamp’ the district administration in Murree in light of the deaths of the snow-tourists.