Fifteen snowplows are being readied in Azilal province as authorities prepare to keep mountain roads open and prevent remote communities from being cut off during the coming winter.
The equipment, backed by heavy loaders and road graders, will be deployed to stretches most vulnerable to snowfall, according to plans discussed at a meeting chaired by Governor Hassan Zitouni on Wednesday.
With snow capable of blocking access to villages in the province’s mountainous areas, officials have been instructed to speed up road-clearing operations and ensure that residents can continue reaching essential services.
Ibrahim Mekkouti, the provincial director of Equipment and Water, told the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) that 15 snowplows had been mobilised alongside other heavy machinery.
He said intervention teams would work with the relevant departments to clear blocked roads and restore traffic as quickly as possible.
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Azilal also has a shared fleet of 35 vehicles belonging to the Equipment Department and local authorities, according to Abderrahman Soufi, head of the provincial administration’s Equipment and Programming Division.
Snowplows will be stationed in advance at identified trouble spots rather than waiting for roads to become impassable.
The authorities may also call on private operators for additional machinery if conditions require it.
Officials said priority would be given to roads where difficult terrain and severe weather pose the greatest risk of disruption.
The arrangements were reviewed at a coordination meeting at the provincial headquarters on November 11, attended by representatives of security services and government departments.
Local monitoring committees were tasked with ensuring that equipment and response teams could be deployed promptly when snowfall threatens road access.
