Garbage dumping into Margallas endanger wildlife, biodiversity.

ISLAMABAD -- The garbage and sewage waste dumping by different restaurants and food chains operating in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) have been posing serious risk to wildlife and biodiversity of the protected area.

Different hotels and recreational spots established in this national park, with their number mounting every passing day are gradually eating up beauty of the area making nature lover to think that why a proper mechanism is not devised for disposing of waste generated by these outlets.

Forming the foothill of Himalayan Mountain Range and sprawling over 17,000 hectare land, the Margalla Hills National Park is rich in wildlife and ecology and is home to the endangered common Asian Leopards, Barking Deer, Wolves, Pangolin, Kalij Pheasants and flora and fauna that are indigenous and unique in existence.

It is also one of attractive tourist spots and source of amusement for the federal capital residents for its zigzagging road leading to Pir Sohawa and beyond, walking tracks, tall pines and small brooks.

But, rapid urbanization in Federal Capital and areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa adjoining the national park had stirred a competition of development. In recent years, we have seen that under the garb of promoting tourism, 17 restaurants and 20 shops have been constructed at six different locations namely Damn-e-Koh Viewpoint, Damn-e-Koh Road, Saidpur Village, Pir Sohawa, Mandla and Nurpur (Lohay Dandi Track).

These restaurants include Dhaba at Damn-e-Koh, Sunshine Resort, Refreshment Centre, Maryam Tuck Shop, Subhan Tuck Shop, View Point Shop, Cool Bite Tuck Shop, View Point Shop, Wild Mild Restaurant at Damn-e-Koh Road, Des Pardes, Charsi Tikka, Dera Shinwari Restaurants at Saidpur Village, Monal, La Montana restaurants, Gloria Jeans Coffee Shop, Tuck Shops in Parking of Monal/ La Montana, and Babu Huts at Pir Sohawa besides ten shops each established at Mandla and Nurpur.

No matter even if these settlements had been issued NoC by concerned authorities, most of them do not have proper waste disposal system and it is directly thrown into Margalla's forest, its vicinity or the water courses within the park.

'Many of these restaurants were established without any Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and their unmanaged anthropogenic intervention was damaging environment,' said Rina Saeed Khan, Chairperson, Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB). 'Especially, two side by side lavish settlements at Pir Sohawa, were the main...