CHITRAL: The administrations of both the Lower and Upper Chitral districts have banned keeping, transporting or dealing with electronic devices to lure the migratory waterfowls to land in the river and artificial ponds to hunt them down.

In separate notifications issued here on Wednesday, Lower Chitral deputy commissioner Mohsin Iqbal and Upper Chitral DC Haseebur Rehman Khalil said it had become imperative to take necessary measures to ensure protection and conservation of the migratory birds during their course of flight over Chitral to the country’s plains.

They said the ban imposed under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code would remain in force for a period of 90 days.

Meanwhile, divisional forest officer wildlife, Chitral, Farooq Nabi told Dawn that waterfowls from Siberia started migrating to the country’s south with the advent of winter season using the Indus flyway zone passing over Chitral after entering from the Broghil valley, which is the starting point of the flyway.

He said that to save different species of waterfowls, the wildlife department had decided to take stringent measures to discourage poaching and overhunting of the migratory birds, which were gullible in nature and fell prey to whims of the ruthless hunters.

Mr Habi said that the wildlife department had framed standard operating procedures to regulate the hunting season, and use of automatic and semi-automatic guns was strictly prohibited.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024