Trekkers shocked over cutting of trees from Trail V

Islamabad : The people belonging to all walks of life highly condemned the cutting of dozens of mature trees near the entry point of Trail V that falls in the protected Margallah Hills National Park.

According to the details, there was a thick tree cover near the entry point of Trail V that has now been totally removed for some obvious reasons.

The local people informed that a high government official some days back was attacked by a wild boar that apparently came there to get food from the piles of trash.

A portion of this place was being used as a garbage dumping point, which attracted wild boars and other animal species and later caused conflicts between visitors and wildlife animals.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PTI-led government has been pursuing an ambitious Billion Tree Tsunami project with an aim to enhance tree cover in Islamabad and all over the country.

Nasir Kiyani, a trekker, said “This is very unfortunate. No where would you cut down trees to protect yourself from wildlife. They could have put some fencing or gone for some other alternative.”

He said: “If wildlife creatures come to this point for food then the area should have been cleared of trash and garbage. But instead, they thought it ‘advisable’ to cut down the trees to provide secure environment to VIP visitors.”

Amna Mohayyuddin, a visitor, said “When will we learn to co-exist with nature? This earth does not just belong to us.

There are other creatures too so please give respect to the rest of the species living in their natural habitats.”

Aslam Chohan, an environmentalist, said “This incident happened at the time when the federal government has introduced new management of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) that is supposed to preserve and protect flora and fauna in this protected area.