A jungle fire in Gandkar tehsil has lasted a week and could not be extinguished, destroying miles of forest areas and killing rare species of animals and birds in the hilly area.
Locals are awaiting government support and told the media that despite their efforts to restrict the fire, they failed due to windstorms which had increased wildfires.
They said that besides the precious forests, the fire also burnt the rare species of wildlife and their eggs, including grey goral, black partridge, grey partridge, chakur partridge, see-see partridge, and others. No provincial department has taken any step to solve the issue, as locals have fought it on their own.
Locals disclosed that the fire erupted two days ago around the hills of Gandkar, spreading miles around the area, which also increased the temperature.
On Monday, Khanpur Assistant Commissioner Dr Abdul Wajid visited the place when wildfire is continued for the past few days.
The official reached the spot to motivate forest department officials, rescue team 1122, and locals to extinguish the forest fire in the Khanpur sub-division.
Dr Wajid has appealed to locals and tourists to desist from throwing cigarettes into the forest and other similar activities. He asked the locals to figure out the threat of forest fire and report to the officials as soon as possible to contain the fire.
“Citizens should also play their part in protecting forests. Everyone should work closely with firefighters to preserve more birds and forests from destruction.”
Meanwhile, the Forest Department launched an awareness campaign for the tourists in Makhniyal Khanpur.
Officials of the department distributed pamphlets among the tourists and instructed them to cooperate with the department to keep the environment green and clean besides taking steps to protect and conserve wildlife.
Emergency control room set up
The Forest Department, district administration and police on Monday set up an emergency control room in Galiyat to deal with fire incidents immediately.
Additional Assistant Commissioner Galiyat Aminul Hassan visited Suri Bridge on Thandiyani Road where fire brigade was extinguishing a forest fire. He directed Tehsil Revenue Agency to identify the causes of fire and nominate the persons involved in it.
He said the district administration has also imposed section 144 in the district and banned all sort of activities that could cause fire eruption in the forest. He urged masses to cooperate with the district administration and forest department and contact on emergency control room 09929310553, 1122 and police control room 09929310033 in case of any fire incident in Galiyat.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2022.
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