November 17, 2001	Saturday	Ramazan 1, 1422

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GILGIT, Nov 16: The government has decided to start a project in Ghizer district at a cost of Rs50 million For the development and conservation of trout, Northern Areas Fisheries Deputy Director Syed Ali Shah said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a consultative meeting organized by Northern Areas Conservation Strategy at Gahkuch, Mr Shah said the Northern Areas aquatic conditions were conducive for trout breeding and in this regard technical assistance had been sought from the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme to enhance the skills of the community.

He said 13 women had been trained to encourage trout fishing at commercial scale and the Northern Areas fisheries department had offered 75 per cent share in fishing proceeds for communities to raise awareness about the natural and water resources.

Replying to a question, he said there were only 51 employees of the department in the district who were insufficient to check illegal fishing as the fishing belt spanned over 2,500km area.

He lamented that the picnickers often used dynamite and nets for fishing that badly affected fish breeding in the Gilgit River.

He said the department had booked 200 people on charges of illegal fishing but they managed to escape prosecution because of legal loopholes.

CONSERVATION FORUM: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Pakistan, held the first session of the Conservation Forum in collaboration with NGOs and government departments at Gilgit Conservation and Information Centre.

A WWF official said the purpose of the forum was to provide a platform for professionals, activists and officials for exchanging ideas, expertise and knowledge about the environment and conservation in the region. District conservation committee chairman Mohammad Ali Shezada presided over the session. #

AWARDS SET UP: Northern Areas Conservation Strategy (NACS) has established awards for people from media, government and NGOs, who play an active role in highlighting the environmental issues in Northern Areas, NACS-IUCN Communication Coordinator M. Ismail Khan told journalists on Friday. He said the awards would be given on the eve of World Environment Day in June.