ISLAMABAD  – Fishing in Rawal Lake goes unabated with anglers throwing strings into the serene water anywhere, anytime, at will, in sheer violation of the ban put in place by the authorities concerned to reserve the place only for picnickers.
The makeshift fish stalls set up at adjoining roads of the lake clearly indicate that fishing was being carried out for earning bread and butter by many, other than as a fun. Fishing rods, strings, hooks, and nets could lead to fatalities since the lake is open for water sports including boating and rafting.
“I’ve seen lots of ropes and nets floating in the water,” a picnicker Khalid Sharif, who visits the lake on weekends, said. He said he had brought the matter into the notice of the officials concerned, but in vain.
According to some media reports, once a serious brawl took place between the anglers and some picnickers, as the latter were barred to roam around specific places where illegal fishing was going on.
The dispute was finally settled when police intervened. Rawal Lake can have one feature.  Either it should be forrecreation or for fishing as both the activities are markedly dissimilar from each other.
When contacted, a CDA official said these issue did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Capital Development Authority.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Drug Quality Control Board has suspended the licences of seven medical stores and approved to forward the challans of four in drug court.
This was told to the 36th meeting of the Board chaired by Chief Commissioner Islamabad Tariq Mehmood Pirzada.
Secretary of the board, Drug Inspector Sardar Shabir Ahmed presented total 11 cases of medical stores involved in violation of drug laws in the board meeting. The meeting also approved a policy about the drugs storage and decided that in future only those chemists will be issues licences that have alternative arrangements of electricity.