Call to declare Garhai Jangal as tourist spot in Mardan

PESHAWAR: The residents of Katlang tehsil in Mardan district have asked Provincial Tourism Minister Muhammad Atif Khan to declare Garhai Jangal Park in Babuzai a tourist spot and provide facilities to the place.

Owing to the construction of Swat Motorway, the road access to Babuzai has also been ensured recently. Garhai Jangal Park is located within the Sakra Wildlife Range in Katlang.

Garhai Jangal sprawls at an area of 3,200 kanals where birds and animals of different species are also present.

The locals and people from other parts of the country would hunt Goral, a mountainous breed of sheep found in the area. However, the Wildlife Department officials, with the cooperation of a local welfare organization Social Association Babuzai Abakhel (Saba), recently banned hunting in the area.

“We held jirgas with locals and banned the hunting of Goral,” said Mir Hassan, general secretary of Saba, while talking to The News.

He added that besides Goral, rabbits, partridges, francolins, monkeys and other animals were also present in the area.

Also, the authorities managed to plant more trees in the area under the Billion Tree Tsunami campaign while the problem of irrigation was also solved through the Baizai Irrigation channel a few years ago.

Mir Hassan also said that the area also housed a tiger in the past, but it was killed by the locals.

The wildlife authorities have installed boards inscribed, with the warning not to hunt bird or animals in the area.

The residents demanded the government to provide facilities to the area so that tourists could be attracted to the spot.