Meeting considered purchasing customised aircraft to
control wildfires in remote,
inaccessible areas

peshawar   -    An important meeting regarding the recent fire incidents in various mountains/forests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa held with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair, here on Friday.

The meeting reviewed in details the causes of   fire incidents and other related matters, and took a number of important decisions to effectively prevent such incidents in future.

Briefing the participants about the recent incidents of fires, it was informed that a total of 283 incidents of fires were reported in various places across the province in recent days. In majority of   cases, fire took place on dry grass and shrubs on land surface, and only 22 trees in designated forests were damaged in the fire incidents across the province.

The meeting decided to formulate a comprehensive strategy for effective prevention of such incidents in future by tightening the relevant laws to punish those who set the mountains/forests on fires intentionally on the basis of personal enmities. It was also decided to constitute committees at district level to keep a vigilant eye on such destructive activities in future.

The committees, to be headed by deputy commissioners, will have representation of police, special branch, Rescue 1122, forest department and district administrations.

The forum further decided to categorise the mountains/forests as high risk, medium risk and low risk areas further deciding that special units of Rescue 1122 would be set up in order to control fires in high-risk areas whereas heavy duty drones would be used to monitor hills and forests as well as to take timely action in case of fire incident there.

The meeting also gave consideration to the purchase of customised aircraft to control fires in remote and inaccessible areas and decided to restore the scientific forest management system. Similarly, it has been decided to devise a mechanism to pull out old wood and dry grass lying in the forests. The meeting was informed that 72percent of the total area affected by the fire was communal and private land.

Similarly, it was told that 8.5percent of the incidents were reported in reserved areas, 23 per cent in protected areas and 5.5percent in Guzara Forest areas. It was further informed that 20percent of the total fire incidents took place due to human error, 9percent due to natural causes and 71percent due to unknown causes.

While briefing about the action so for taken against those involved in setting the forests/mountains on fire, it was informed that a total of 56 FIRs had been registered whereas 32 accused of arson have been identified and 11 of them have been arrested. The meeting was informed that three persons including a rescue worker was martyred in attempts to extinguish fire in mountains.

On this occasion, the chief minister paid tribute to the martyrs and lauded the role of Rescue 1122 and forest department personnel in extinguishing the fire.

Chief Minister also directed to have a transparent mechanism for the removal of dry wood and weed in the forests and an effective surveillance system in order to prevent fire incidents in the future. He also directed the quarters concerned to ensure implementation of the decisions taken in the meeting, adding that the provincial government would provide all the required financial resources for this purpose on priority basis.

Provincial Minister for Forests Ishtiaq Urmer, Special Assistant to Chief Minister for Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Chief Secretary Shehzad Bangash, IG Police Moazzam Jah Ansari, concerned administrative secretaries and police officials attended the meeting.