launched first phase Wildlife Park at QAU Former federal minister for textile
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Islamabad: Former federal minister for textile Rana Farooq Saeed Khan launched the first phase of the Wildlife Park, an extended project of Botanic Garden (BG), Quaid-i-Azam University, by releasing four pairs of geese into a small artificial lake here on Thursday afternoon.
Others participating in the ceremony included Dr Abdul Hameed, Dean Biological Sciences and head of the Technical Committee, BG, Rana Shafiq-ur-Rehnman, President of Green Circle Organisation helping QAU in setting up the Botanic Garden and its extension, S Shahid Raza, CEO of Leonz, who donated these birds, S Israr Ali, Vice-Principal of Islamabad College for Boys.
The geese, which included an Australian pair also, were released near Housing Colony of the New Campus, QAU, near Shahdara Road, in a pond created as part of water harvesting arrangement. The pond will not only house marine birds and animals but would also serve as back-up reservoir of water during dry seasons.
Talking to this scribe, Rana Farooq Saeed hoped that Botanic Garden and its extension project will attract residents of the twin-cities and tourists visiting Murree Hills and Galiyat using the nearby Murree Road.
The birds will later be shifted to the Wildlife Park to be located on the eastern boundary-line of QAU along the nullah before Bhara Kahu. It will be part of a herbal tea hut and would include a lake and enclosures for animals and birds to attract tourists.
The work on Botanic Garden started in the middle of January this year and more than 60-hectrate of land was levelled for the BG and its extended project. The BG itself, an HEC funded project, is spread on 25 acres and includes water storage, tissue-culture lab and offices to be set up in near future.
The extended project aims at putting the unattended university land into useful utilisation and also get the land vacated from qabza groups in the process. According to a QAU source, more than 200 acres of land is under illegal occupation of villagers as well as mafia enjoying political support.
The BG also got pigeons, rabbits and dogs donated by individuals, organizations and firms. Many more species are in the pipeline and will be introduced after the requisite infrastructure is established.
In a parallel development, a Kitchen Gardening Club has also started working at QAU. It aims at motivating, guiding and helping Campus Community including faculty, students and employees for kitchen gardening, which has become a necessity to combat food insecurity and rising prices of vegetables, fruits, poultry and fish. The club is part of Pakistan National Kitchen Gardening Club started by GCO some weeks ago.
The QAU staff will be offered to use university land for growing vegetables and fruits for their households each having some marlas of land for the purpose where the teachers and staff can bring their families and work as part of hobby and training and use the produce in their kitchens. The news.