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| May 7, 2003 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1424 |
Two lakes declared national parks
PESHAWAR, May 6: The NWFP government has declared Saiful Malook and Lolusar lakes, with their catchment areas, as national parks to protect and preserve the scenery, flora and fauna of the area.
The lakes were decaying rapidly due to haphazard pollution, over grazing and deforestation, said chief conservator wildlife, Dr Mumtaz Malik while talking to APP here on Tuesday.
A notification to establish the national parks was issued a few days earlier in light of Section 16 of the NWFP Wildlife Act 1975, according to which the government may declare any area which is its property or it has proprietary right over it, to be a national park with a view of the protection and preservation of the scenery, flora and fauna in the natural estate, he apprised.
After declaring any area as a national park, the government prohibits hunting, shooting, trapping of wildlife, tapping of solid fuel, burning of plants, land reclamation and mining.
With these restrictions, a national park is accessible to public for recreation, education and research purposes, he added.
The total area of the two lakes, located in district Manshera, is measured upto 87,084 acres. The break-up of which is 75058 Lolusar and 12026 Saiful Malook lake.
The wildlife department will deploy staff there and also involve communities for preservation and conservation of these lakes.
The department has already involved a number of communities for protection of already existing three national parks of the province, including Chitral Ghor park, Shiekh Badin and Ayubia national park.
These communities were also getting a handsome share from the earnings obtained from these parks. The tourists who usually visit these scenic sites will now observe a remarkable change in regard with maintenance of the beauty of these lakes, he said.
Similarly, by creating buffer zones, the wildlife of the area, including ibex, musk deer, snow leopard, brown bear, marmot, peacock, trout fish and migratory water fowl will get proper protection, he added.
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