Unchecked activities: Students collect waste from Margalla Hills trail three

The walk was organised in connection with the Third Pakistan Mountain Festival.

The trekking trails of the Margalla Hills provide the residents of Islamabad with something that is rare to find in other major cities of Pakistan - a healthy recreational outlet with beautiful turns and twists.

As a common habit in Pakistan, many of the visitors do not take any particular interest in the cleanliness of the facility and as a result, empty plastic bottles and snack wrappers were becoming more visible throughout the course.

For a change, over 100 students from different departments of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) participated in a walk to collect garbage from Margalla Hills trail three on Sunday, said a press release.

“I ask trail three visitors not to litter here. The mountains cannot clean themselves to maintain their natural beauty,” requested Nayab Zafar, a participating student.

The ‘Mountain Eco-friendly Walk’ was organised in connection with the Third Pakistan Mountain Festival — an annual advocacy and awareness-raising festival by the Development Communications Network (DEVCOM-Pakistan) to commemorate International Mountain Day.

“We need to focus on the youth for a sustainable future and environmental conservation. The older generation, despite repeated sensitisation campaigns, keep on doing all the wrongs to the nature,” said DEVCOM-Pakistan Director Munir Ahmed, who also happens to be the director of the festival. His organisation’s partnership with the NUST Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE) is a testament to the statement.

The SEED project is also a supporting partner in the cause, according to Ahmed, who added that International Mountain Day (IMD) was an opportunity to educate the younger generation about the importance of mountains for the ecosystem.

“The festival will bring different stakeholders and youth together for a large number of activities that will have a lasting impact,” the director explained.

Faculty members of NUST and office bearers of its Environment club, Dr Imran Hashmi and Dr Muhammad Arshad, also seemed happy about the enthusiasm of their students and were hopeful that they would learn the practical steps involved in achieving what was taught to them in classrooms.

“The three-hour walk not only freshens up minds, but also inculcate a love for nature,” said Arshad.

Another student, Sadia Zia, observed the trail’s biodiversity had been disturbed by huge quantities of solid waste and garbage generated as a result of unrestricted human activities on the hills.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2013.