Mechanism finalised to thwart fire incidents in Margallah Hills

Islamabad : A new mechanism has been developed to prevent fire incidents in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) especially in the summer season when hot weather conditions further aggravate the situation.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) have taken notice of recent fire incidents in Loi Dandi, sector D-12 and hilly area near F-9 Park.

The officials reviewed the details of these incidents and also pointed out ‘hotspots’ where maximum vigilance would be required to avoid fire incidents.

The CDA will develop constant liaison with the forest officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and IWMB and initiate joint patrolling and inspections with the help of local population at tourist spots such as Daman-e-Koh, Pir Sohawa, the hiking trails and similar areas.

In case of any fire incident the control room will immediately inform the concerned officers about the location of the fire affected area. It will also keep vigil over the areas where dry leaves are in excess because they easily catch fire and spread it to other areas.

The IWMB has already announced Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the visitors that included complete ban on barbecue and campfires in the vicinity of the MHNP.

It has also asked the people that if they observe any fire incident in the Margalla Hills they should immediately inform it at these numbers (051-2601912 0309-5302425).

The data shared by CDA showed that number of measures have already been taken including establishment of fire control stations, pickets, ground and aerial surveillance of vulnerable pockets of the forest area, patrolling and deployment of firefighters and firefighting equipment, and post-fire operations.

A fire truck accompanied by staff members of forest fire pickets will remain on duty round-the-clock. The members of Directorate of Emergency and Disaster Management will also be available at the fire headquarters building to assist staff as and when required.