Chitral students hold Earth Day walk

CHITRAL, April 22: A large number of students held a walk from Seenlasht to Toshi conservancy in connection with the World Earth Day on Tuesday. 

The students came from the community-based school at Dolomuch, Eagle-Eye Educational Institute and the Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Chitral. The walk was held in collaboration with the Chitral Heritage and Environment Protection Society Chitral (CHEPS).

The walk to the conservancy area aimed at showing to the students the flora and fauna in this area, their positive impact on our environment and importance of a balanced environment for life. This long walk started 9am and ended in the hunting point at Toshi where WWF field biologist Mr. Shafiqullah Khan briefed the students.

He said that the step of conservancy was initiated to conserve wildlife, plantation and development of the area by constructing schools, hydropower projects, water supply from the income generated from trophy hunting. This conservancy covers 20,000 hectares and is home to some important animals like Kashmir Markhor, ibex, snow leopard, wolf, pheasant partridge, chakur and plants which have both environmental, medicinal and natural benefits for wild life and human beings.

The snow leopard is one of the endangered species, which has a home range of 250 square kilometers. It is also known as ‘key stone specie’. A recent research has showed that the population of only six snow leopards in Chitral, he adedd. While speaking on the occasion, CHEPS Chairman M. Jaffar Dost appealed to all educational institutions NGOs and public sector institutions and people for taking care of the environment and support clean and green Chitral.

He also requested the district and tehsil administration and Jashn-e-Qaqlasht committee to take appropriate measures to ensure the beauty and cleanliness of the Qaqlasht during festival which is likely to be held in the coming week.