Margalla clean-up planned on Earth Day

Islamabad: The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board will carry out a clean-up exercise with the help of volunteers along Pir Sohawa Road in the Margalla National Park on Friday (April 22) as part of the Earth Day celebrations.

According to the IWMB, every year on April 22, more than one billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from pollution and deforestation and take part in activities like picking up litter and planting trees to make the world happier and healthier place to live.

"To celebrate Earth Day, we, the Friends of Margalla Hills National Park, have organised a clean-up activity to collect solid waste from the hills and dispose them of properly. All are requested to please volunteer for it," a board representative said.

According to her, the volunteers will show up at the IWMB offices in Dino Park at 4 pm on April 22, while the clean-up drive will begin at the Daman-e-Koh on the Pir Sohawa Road at 4:45 pm and end at Dino Park before Iftar, the evening time to break the Ramazan fast. The volunteers can hike from Trail 2 and do a cleanup on the way, while others will be dropped at the starting point by the IWMB vehicles. Light Iftar refreshments will be served at the Dino Park IWMB offices.

Those interested in participating in the clean-up can register with the IWMB by April 19 to enable the board to plan arrangements for the activity. While promising the provision of gloves and biodegradable garbage collection bags, the IWMB member urged participants to wear hiking shoes, joggers, sunglasses, caps and sweatbands, carry drinking water for emergency use, keep handkerchiefs or towels with them, to be careful of slippery and wet surfaces and thorny bushes, go for comparatively easy picking for their own safety, and beware of wild animals like pigs, dogs and snakes.