Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: More than 100 students from different universities cleaned up Margalla Hills Trail-5 on Saturday in connection with the 7th Pakistan Mountain Festival – the annual flagship event of the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) – to commemorate International Mountain Day.

The event was supported by the UNDP Pakistan Environment Wing, World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan), Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE) of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), and Devcom Centennial Leo Club (IDCLC).

Students collected a huge mass of filth, including plastic bottles, wrappers, tins, plastics, and shopping bags and food-packing thrown by irresponsible picnickers.

Speaking on the occasion, Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director and Pakistan Mountain Festival Director Munir Ahmed termed the overwhelming participation of youth in the Margalla Hills Trail-5 cleanliness drive a good sign and a maturity of youth towards nature conservation. He said that sensitised and environmentally engaged youth would become a real source for inspiration for others to take the green and clean practices in the society.

Munir Ahmed said the Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad needed to have more vigorous action to take notice of fast degrading Magalla Hills National Parks areas falling in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). He said the MCI should encourage citizens’ engagement in management and improvement of civic facilities. “Engaging the youth in healthy and environment friendly practices shall be one of the priorities for the MCI.”

Dr Imran Hashmi appreciated the efforts of Devcom-Pakistan for continuing the environmental-friendly practices in such odd times too. He said that such kind of activities empowered the youth to take up their leading role in society and at their workplaces.

Haares Munir, the IDCLC president, said that the youth belonging to mountainous region needed to feel their responsibility to raise their fearless voices against exploitation of natural resources on the footsteps of their homes.

He urged the youth to reach out to the mainstream media with evidences against culprits and develop and share research-based stories of victims of climate change. It will help highlight the climate change impact on the communities that will result in a positive change in the policies and the priorities of the respective government and multilateral agencies. Even the smallest action has its own impact and may lead to a bigger change,” he explained.

Published in Daily Times, December 10^th 2017.