Drive launched to keep Hazara picnic spots clean

MANSEHRA: A consortium of non-governmental organisations and government departments led by the district Social Welfare Department has started cleanliness drive at picnic points in Hazara and launched its activities from the Lake Saiful Muluk on Saturday.

The consortium also organised a walk in Naran, the commercial point of Kaghan valley, to educate tourists to keep the beautiful valley clean and pollution free.

They started from main bazaar and culminated at riverside of Kunhar.

Deputy Commissioner of Mansehra Iqbal Hussain, Deputy Director Ministry of Climate Change Farzana Altaf and Assistant Director of Environment Protection Agency Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Abdul Waheed also took part in the walk and garbage collections at Lake Saiful Muluk.

The men and women activists of Saibaan Development Foundation, Right to Live, Sungi Development Foundation, Sarhad Rural Support Programme, and Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Ministry of Climate Change Islamabad and Environment Protection Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also joined the garbage collection drive.

“We have initiated a campaign to clean tourist spots in Hazara. We have started our activities from Lake Saiful Muluk that attracts a large number of tourists every year,” Abdul Rasheed, District Officer at the Social Welfare Department told reporters in Naran.

He said the consortium would continue its activities to make picnic free of pollution on self-help basis. 

Sahibzada Jawwad Alfaizi, managing director of Saibaan Development Foundation, said that NGOs working in Mansehra had joined hands to make tourist spots pollution free and create awareness among the people.