GILGIT: Illegal construction and deforestation have threatened the natural beauty of Rama, the famous tourist destination in Astore district of Gilgit-Baltistan, locals have complained.

The residents appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene to maintain natural beauty of the place, situated at 9,800 feet altitude, having lash green meadows, thick forests and a lake surrounded by glaciers.

The local residents said they had highlighted illegal deforestation and construction activity, but to no avail.

Qamar Abbas, a local, told Dawn that illegal tree cutting had been going on without any check for last 15 years. He said people also extracted construction material from the area, damaging its environment.

He said that Rama Lake was famous for its natural beauty and trout fish, but regretted that tourists indulged in fishing using illegal means with no official check.

Local Tahseenul Hassan said he had written a letter to the prime minister highlighting the issue and requesting his intervention because the place had been one of the tourist destinations the PM wanted to promote.

He said that the glacier had started moving rapidly towards Rama meadows because of unchecked deforestation and movement of heavy vehicles.

Another resident said deforestation and massive human activity had also threatened rare species, including snow leopard, brown bear, markhor, ibex and wolf.

He pointed out that Rama polo festival had been held annually since 2011, attracting thousands of people.

He said construction of polo ground at 9,800 feet altitude and holding of festivals annually had resulted in accumulation of tons of degradable garbage every year, which caused degradation of environment. Moreover, construction of guesthouses and hotels in violation of the environmental laws threatened the beauty and environment of the area.

Locals said they had protested the unchecked activists time and again, but no one at the helm was serious to take notice of the issue.

They requested the prime minister to direct the GB government to declare Rama as a national park and dismantle all guest houses and other constructions to protect the environment from further degradation.

They also demanded ban on holding of festivals and entry of vehicles in the Rama meadows.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2020