Gul Hamad Farooqui
CHITRAL: Over 3,000 deodar saplings have been planted in the Chitral Gol National Park during the ongoing plantation drive by the forest department.
According to Mohammad Altaf Ali Shah Shah, Divisional Forest Officer Wildlife Chitral Gol National Park, the core zone of the park covers an area of 7,750 hectares while the buffer zone added later spreads over 50,000 hectares. Apart from markhor; Himalayan lynx, snow leopard, wolf, jackal, marmot are found in the park. He said according to an estimate the number of markhors in the park is 2,278.
Conservator Shaukat Fayaz of Malakand Forest Division was present to supervise the plantation drive. He said forest guards, Nigahbans and volunteers of Al-Khidmat Foundation were also participating in the campaign.
Talking to this ChitralToday, Conservator Fayyaz said there is a lot of burden on the forests of Chitral, especially in the winter season when most of the people burn oak trees as firewood. The only way to save the forest is to provide cheap electricity or gas to the people of Chitral.
During the campaign, 3,000 deodar saplings were planted in the scenic park. It is hoped that when these saplings grow and become trees, a dense forest will be seen here.
Officers of the forest department also urged the nation to actively participate in the good cause, adding every Pakistani must plant at least one tree so that the shortage of forests in the country can be controlled.