R EFER ENCE news item `Banigala under amnesty scheme` (Jan 20). It seems the government has once again succumbed to the demand of land grabbers and property mafia. The area in and around Banigala, as per the master plan of Islamabad, was dedicated as a national park where migratory birds too found a sanctuary during winter.

Rawal Lake, the main source of water to Rawalpindi, is also in the vicinity of Banigala, where reportedly some time back, an alarming number of fish were found dead, most probably due to the pollution of the lake.

It is so inconsiderate on the part of the CDA to allow the residents of Banigala, who happen to be responsible for polluting Rawal L ake, to get their illegal construction regularised. Is there no one to stand up against the bulldozing of this amnesty? Where is civil society? Khaled Islamabad