The capital administration has closed all the hiking trails on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills for a week starting Dec 22, Wednesday.

According to a notification issued to this effect, the trails have been closed to conduct a fire audit of the forest-covered hilly area in the wake of a recent fire incident in the Margalla Hills.

“In the wake of recent fire incident at Margalla Hills it has been decided to conduct a complete fire audit of the area and to protect Margalla Hill forest; therefore all trekking trails in Margalla Hills Islamabad shall remain closed for one week starting 22nd Dec till 29th Dec 2021 for audit of fire incidents, clealiness and maintenance purposes,” read the notification.

“All trekkers/ visitors are requested to avoid visiting trails during above mentioned dates.”

On Dec 11, a blaze erupted in the Budo Ban area of Margalla Hills National Park. However, it was doused after hours of efforts by teams of the Islamabad wildlife department and Capital Development Authority (CDA).