Chinji forest development starts
An area famous for the discovery of pre-historic fossils and know habitations dating back to over 1,000 years is being developed as a national park, officials told The Express Tribune.
As part of the revival of forest areas to promote local tourism, the Punjab Forest Department has started development work in Chinji National Park.
The Chinji National Park, established in 1987, is a protected area of IUCN category II located in Chakwal district of the Rawalpindi division about 130 km from Islamabad in the south.
The Chinji forest expands over 15,000 acres. Archaeologists and geologists have discovered 1,000 year old signs of human habitation and fossils of extinct animals from here. There is a small population of urial and golden jackals in the area too.
The government is building a museum to display the fossils and other such discoveries. Punjab Forest Department Additional Secretary Rasheed Awan told The Express Tribune that the development work in the national park would be completed by the end of the current year.
He added that the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar would inaugurate the national park in January 2021.
Awan said that they were also doing arrangements for the breeding of wild animals found in the Chinji forest while a mini dam would be built for string drinking water for them.
The government will introduce recreational services including boating along with the installation of benches and the establishment of 50 washrooms and jogging tracks.
The official said that cafeterias and food stalls would also be set up in the national park.
He added that Chinji was the only forest in the country with wild olive trees, adding that the forest department was also planting another 20,000 saplings in the national park.
He said that there would be prohibition on hunting in the national park while the animal kingdom would also be established there to attract visitors.
Payments to dam affectees
People displaced in the Chakwal district due to the development of Daducha and Mahuta dams should be paid compensation at the earliest, said the Rawalpindi Division Commissioner Muhamad Mehmood.
Commissioner Mehmood has directed to expedite work on Daducha and Mahuta dams along with payment of compensation to the displaced people.
The commission headed a meeting to review the progress of development projects in the Rawalpindi district on Monday.
Addressing the meeting, Mehmood directed the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Chakwal to organise a khuli kutcheri to dole out compensation money to the affectees of both dams.
ADC told that 213 of the total 1,920 displaced persons have been compensated and assured that the process would be completed by December 30.
The commissioner instructed awarding contracts of both dams before the next meeting and to activate the contractor within the next 15 days.
Mehmood said that the water need was increasing with increasing industries and population and the underground water sources were depleting. Therefore, the official stressed the need for building dams at the earliest to make up for drinking water requirements.
The official said that the construction of dams would not only save rainwater from getting wasted but it would mitigate the risk of flooding as well.
The officials informed the participants that Daducha dam would be converted into a tourist spot.
The minister ordered to remove difficulties in funds’ release and sought photos of the dam sites along with details of the civic work.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2020.