Title Pakistan Forest Digest Issue 01- A4 - Pakistan Research Group

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SDPISustainable Development Policy Institutebuilt on that land. This hasdestroyed the gardens. Thehistorical gardens have beenturned into housing colonies. ChiefJustice Aijaz Afzal has said thatthese gardens are part of nationalheritage and action should betaken against those responsible fordestroying the garden. Thepetitioner has been asked topresent old and new pictures ofthese gardens. The court hasdirected the departmentof archeology to presentrecord of the gardens onthe next hearing.Provincial government given notice to make Peshawarcity of gardensMost of the gardens in Peshawar have been occupied by land mafia; petitionerDaily Aaj, Abbottabad, May 13, 2010Peshawar (News Reporter)Peshawar High Court has directedthe department of archeology,local government and culture topresent record. On a petition filedby Shakil Waheedullah Chiefjustice of High Court Aijaz AfzalKhan and Justice Sajjad HussainShah have given the opinion thatthe petitioner is a resident ofPeshawar and that Peshawar wasknown as city of gardens but theland mafia has ruined all thatgardens. Wazir Bagh used to be avast garden spread over hundredsof acres of land but it has beenruined. Similarly the Shahi Baghwas spread over several acres ofland over which now GovernmentCollege, Municipal Inter College,Niaz Stadium and football groundhave been built. Other gardens ofthe city have also been ruined andbuildings have been built on those.Agriculture is the livelihood of residents of Hunza ValleyOrchards under threat of being washed awayDaily Aaj, Abbottabad, May 20, 2010Livelihood of the residents of Hunza valley depends onagriculture. Fruit like apricot, grapes, apples, peaches,pear, pomegranate, and cherries grown in the pollutionfree environment are perfect in quality. However, dueto the formation of an artificial lake at Attabad thedistrict administration of Hunza-Nagar has directed thepeople to leave the area. The formation of lake atAttabad started in January 2010. Due to theearthquakes in 2002 and 2005 cracks had appeared inmountains. Gradually these cracks grew wider. As thelivelihood of the local people is dependent onagriculture they continued their usual life withoutpaying much attention to these cracks. These crackskept growing so much so that an NGO working in area,Karakoram Area Development Organization and theGeological Survey of Pakistan conducted a detailedsurvey of the area. The Geological Survey of Pakistanconducted the survey on the request of NationalDisaster Management Authority so that thegovernment organizations could prepare themselvesfor coping with disaster. Unfortunately therecommendations of this report have not beenimplemented.On 4 January 2010 an incident took place which killed19 people. Bodies of 13 people were recoveredimmediately while three others were found later.Three bodies are still missing. This loss of life hasactivated the government institutions. Compensationwas paid to the families of the dead within a week ofthe incident and the survivors were shifted to safersites. All government institutions came to work butthe delay had already caused some irreparable damage.After talking to the people of the area the followingissues came forth: 1. the government is giving figuresabout the length, breadth and depth of the Attabad lakebut is not saying how much damage will be inflicted ifthe lake spills over. 2. majority of the people ofHunza are not prepared for coping with any emergencybecause there is no civil defense system in place. Thecommon people are unaware of basic needs fromstoring grain and fuel to first aid. 3. the media is notplaying its role properly. People are skeptic about thepossible devastation due to the lake. Reporting is notbased on factual conditions but on sentiments. Most ofthe people who are covering Attabad lake issue are notfrom Gilgit-Baltistan. They are unaware of the locallanguage and culture. They are also unaware of thePakistan Forest Digest Vol. 1, No. 1, April – June, 2010
SDPISustainable Development Policy Institutedevelopment process in the area. This is the reasonthat they are unable to present a realistic picture. Itseems as if the truth has been buried underneath therubble that has blocked water of Hunza River and itwill be revealed only when all standing crops getsubmerged and all cattle is swept away. The lakeformed on 4 January submerged three villagesAainabad, Shashkat and Gulmat. Governmentdepartment had not made any forecast about theinundation of these villages. Government departmentsare claiming that dam break will not cause anydamage. Common people are not ready to trust that.Fear is quite obvious not only among the people livingin the low lying areas of Hunza valley but also amongthose who are living on the hills. People are askingmany questions while those answering the questionsgive weak arguments and advise people to trust inGod. 5. No arrangements were made to move out thecattle from the low lying villages of Hunza valleywhich the government had forced the people toevacuate. If these areas are inundated then the loss ofcattle would be much higher than any other losses. 6.Attabad lake is a clear example inefficiency andnegligence of government departments. We shouldhave learned lessons from the past. 7. In a statementon 14 May China has offered all possible help to theaffected people. The government should appeal to theinternational community for support. The entireHunza valley should be declared a calamity-hit area.Volunteers all over the country should be put on alertto handle any emergency. 8. politicalparties are not happy with the governmentpolicy about Attabad lake. Officials of theNGOs criticize the government policy offthe record while the political leaders keepsaying openly that the government shouldprepare for the emergency situation.Disaster management should be taught in educationalinstitutions. Newspapers and other media sourcesshould be used for dissemination of information.Establishing FM radio stations can be of help in theseareas. 9. Member of Gilgit-Baltistan assemblyMaulana Shahab has said that the lake has taken theshape of a water bomb and the government is illpreparedto meet this challenge. Muslim League-Q hassaid that the government has failed to release waterfrom the lake in a timely manner. Local organizationof the MQM has also expressed dissatisfaction over therescue and rehabilitation efforts of the government.Imam of Jamia Masjid Gilgit Syed Rahat Hussaini hassaid that political parties should stop criticizing eachother and should chalk out a strategy to meet thischallenge. 10. The local government has startedremoving wooden bridges. This will cut offcommunication between various villages. Majority ofpeople living in the localities on hills have moved outof the area and youth organizations have beenorganized for the look after of cattle.Pakistan Forest Digest Vol. 1, No. 1, April – June, 2010
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Title Pakistan Forest Digest Issue 01- A4 - Pakistan Research Group

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