The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has prepared Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) for the fire season aimed to overcome the threats of forest fire in Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP).
A CDA spokesman said under the SOP, MHNP had been distributed into four ranges Golra, Saidpur, Noorpur and Bara Khu. He added 30 fire pickets had been established in the park area as part of the arrangements for prevention, detection and control of forest fire, said the CDA spokesman.
CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi has directed the authority’s environment wing to strictly implement SOP during the fire season to protect the rich biodiversity and fauna flora of MHNP. A meeting in this regard was held here to review the arrangements for the fire season, presided over by CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat and attended by Member Environment Mian Waheed-ud-Din and senior officers of the environment wing, the CDA spokesman said. Under the SOP awareness plan, signboards along Daman-e-Koh Road have been fixed. NGOs like HWF, Margallah Hills Society and WWF are also associated with the awareness campaign for the prevention and control of forest fire. The CDA member environment informed the meeting that seasonal staff on daily wages had been increased from 300 to 400 and total 550 staffers, including 150 regular ones, had been deployed at 30 fire pickets round the clock in two shifts. He said a control room had been established at Environment Directorate (F-9 Park), which would operate day and night with telephone No 051-2855513 as well as connected with fire pickets through wireless system. One observatory picket had also been established at Shakarparian; 10 vehicles and three water tankers deployed for patrolling prevention and control of forest fire, he said. He told the meeting that arrangement and coordination with 6th Army Aviation Squadron of Emergency Relief Cell had been updated.