ISLAMABAD: Three persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in the fire incidents on Margalla Hills as more fires continued raging the hills with authorities concerned unable to control the flames.

The frequent fires have already destroyed flora and fauna besides polluting the environment. For the last many days, fires have erupted in different parts of the hills, raising question marks over the efficiency of the CDA.

CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa in a post on X stated: “Three individuals have been arrested and 15 FIRs lodged regarding the recent fires at Margalla Hills. We will ensure all those responsible are held accountable. We are committed to protect our beautiful hills at any cost.”

On the other hand, the government formed an inter-departmental working group to coordinate for a rapid response to tackle issue.

Govt forms working group to coordinate rapid response for departments concerned to tackle issue

When contacted, CDA Member Environment Shahzad Khalil, who was supervising the firefighting operation on Friday night, said efforts were being made to control the flames. He said the hills spread over 31,000 acres and the civic agency’s staffers were trying to check the fire incidents.

“I just changed the shift and now fresh team is being dispatched for firefighting operations. We work round the clock in two shifts,” he said, adding police had been investigating the possibility of human involvement in the fires.

He said the CDA, the Ministry of Climate Change and the federal government were making coordinated efforts to resolve the issue. He stated that 37 pickets had already been established with a number of staffers patrolling on the hills. Moreover, fire lines have also been constructed.

“Besides alleged involvement of mischievous elements, winds also contribute a lot in spreading the flames,” he said.

In the summer seasons in the past, fires used to erupt on the hills but this year the intensity of the incidents has been very high. After every such incident, CDA officials announced that the flames had been extinguished but the very next day similar incidents happen again.

The CDA has hire 450 local people for three months to extinguish fires on the hills but despite this there has been no decrease in the incidents.

“What the staffers are doing, where they perform duties? Instead of extinguishing fires after several hours, the CDA should focus on controlling it at the initial stage,” said a retired officer of CDA, adding that the frequency of fires was something very serious. If this pattern continued, there would be huge destruction damages to the hills, flora and fauna.

“Multiple incidents of fires on a daily basis for the last around one week is something unprecedented. These fires could not be natural; therefore, there is a need to find out the involvement of mischievous elements,” the officer said.

On Friday, major a fire broke out in three areas - forest number four of Bhara Kahu range, forest number 19 and 20 in Kalanger. Two major fires were put out, but the main one was raging till filing of this report. Besides firefighters, four choppers were also used in the operation.

The CDA makes announcement every year to set up pickets and deploy forest guards for patrolling to prevent fire incidents, but high intensity fires have become common this summer.

An official of the environment wing suspected that some people deliberately ignited the fires. He said when firefighters start extinguishing the flames on one side of the hills another fire breaks out on the other side.

“There is something fishy, we are seriously after mischievous elements and three suspects have been arrested in the Kalanger area,” he said.

Meanwhile, Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination formed an inter-departmental working group (IWG) on forest fires in the Margalla Hills National Park.

The seven-member working group is headed by Inspector General of Forests Ghulam Qadir Shah and comprises Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Islamabad police Mustafa Tanveer, the CDA director general environment and others.

The IWG shall coordinate rapid response for the concerned departments and will report to the coordinator to the PM.

Sources said the federal government had expressed its concerns over the frequent fire incidents on Margalla Hills and on Thursday the PM’s coordinator chaired a meeting of stakeholders to tackle the issue.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2024