LPG plants planned for Kaghan to arrest deforestation

MANSEHRA: The Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) would install Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)-air mix plants in the Kaghan valley and parts of Balakot tehsil to protect the large scale deforestation.

“These plants, which have successfully been working in far-off parts of Balochistan, would be installed in the Kaghan valley, Ghanool, Mahandri and Balakot to supply LPG to households,” Senator Gen (retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi told reporters in Balakot on Wednesday. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader, who is also a member of Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum, said he had taken up deforestation issue in the scenic Kaghan valley and parts of Balakot and then mix gas plants were proposed not only to address that issue but also provide alternative fuel to households in that area. “I met Managing Director, SNGPCL, Amir Tufail, who would send teams to the Kaghan valley to select appropriate points where these plants would be installed to supply gas to local households,” he added. Senator Gen (retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi said that if rapid deforestation was not brought to an end in the Kaghan valley, its comforting environment would be polluted and scenic charm vanished.