ISLAMABAD, March 9: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is making preparations to cope with bush fires on Margalla Hills during summer season.

The campaign in this regard will be launched before the end of March as the officials in the CDA’s environment directorate have prepared a ‘comprehensive plan’ to be implemented this summer.

The director-general Environment, Mazhar Hussain, told Dawn that most of the big fires on Margalla Hills travelled from the other side of the hills, which were the areas under the control of Punjab or the NWFP forest departments.

“We have arranged meetings with the officials of both the NWFP and Punjab forest departments, in which we will discuss steps to control fires on their sides as well as prevent them from spreading to this side of the hills,” Mr Hussain said.

“We have some bad experiences of such fires travelling from the forests in Hazara division to this side of the Margallas. We are trying to find some means to prevent such incidents this year and in future,” he added.

Other steps include meetings with villagers, inhabiting the settlements on the Margallas, to seek their cooperation in fighting bush fires. He said the monitoring and fire-fighting staff of the directorate would almost be doubled this year.

“In the past, we had about 150 to 175 strong force deployed to monitor and fight the fires on Margalla Hills. This year the number will be increased to almost 300,” Mazhar Hussain said. Similarly, he added, the number of fire pumps would also be doubled from 35 to 70 or even more this year.

“Our ‘summer pickets’ will be in place before the end of the month (March) to monitor the situation round the clock on the Margallas. Usually these pickets are set up and activated well into May,” he said.

The director-general said besides setting up these pickets and deploying staff for monitoring of the Margallas, special meetings were being arranged with the people and leaders of the villages on the Margallas.

“We would like to apprise them of the dangers posed by these bush fires, and seek their cooperation to prevent any such incident this summer. People are now becoming more and more aware of the bad impact these fires on Margalla Hills have for them and they are eager to extend cooperation to fight this problem,” he said.

In addition, he added, more people would be employed this year not only for monitoring the whole terrain round the clock, but also to fight such fires if those erupt despite all the preventive and precautionary measures adopted by the authority.

Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the WWF, the Human Welfare Nature Conservation (HWNC) and the Margalla Hills Society (MHS) are already cooperating with us to create awareness among people about these fires on the Margallas and the means to prevent them.

He said the CDA would also be in contact with the Emergency Relief Cell of the government which could provide the services of helicopter assistance in case fire got out of control and gained huge proportions.