Villagers compelled to use firewood

Margallah Hills

Islamabad

A large number of inmates living in the villages on Margallah Hills are using firewood in the face of cold weather conditions as bringing gas cylinders from markets of the capital city to their far-flung areas is a hard nut to crack for generally resource-less people.

Amjad Bhatti, a resident of Saidpur Village that is comparatively near to the urban area, said absence of gas connections has forced most of the inmates to rely on firewood because option of using gas cylinders is not affordable for everyone in this area.  It is pertinent to mention here that the people living in these villages often lack viable sources of income and using gas cylinders is not a better option for those who find it hard to make their both ends meet.

According to the law, Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP) is a protected area and no one is allowed to cut tree or carry out construction activity in its vicinity. But hundreds of thousands of people are living in the villages falling in MHNP due to high prices of land and increasing house rent in the urban areas of the city.

Aftab-ur-Rehman, a resident of Talhar village, said there was some kind of discussion in the previous PPP government for introduction of a special package to provide gas cylinders on subsidised rates to the villagers in the Margallah hills with an aim to reduce use of firewood especially in the winter season.

“We don't know what happened to the special package that was being introduced by the PPP government to provide gas cylinders on subsidised rates. So the present government must take measures to resolve this issue on priority basis,” he said.