PESHAWAR, July 31: The NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said the Frontier province is the major repository of forest and mountain resources in the country but still there is a need for plantation of more trees in order to provide neat and clean environment to the people.

This he said while inaugurating the tree plantation drive in Peshawar city. He planted a sapling at Bagh-i-Naran in Hayatabad Township on Wednesday. Organised by Peshawar campus of Iqra University in collaboration with the City Development and Municipal Department, more than 20,000 saplings would be planted at all the prominent locations of the city.

The governor was all praise for the spirit and dedication of the management of the university to help the government in this important task and said he was overwhelmed by the participation of the academic institutions in the government’s mission to provide a green and environmentally healthier atmosphere to the people.

“I am extremely pleased at the presence of a large number of students...who would act as the conduit to directly pass the message to the future builders of the nation,” said Mr Shah, adding that the earth being the only habitat for the human beings needed the latter’s care and support.

Above all, he said, plants and greenery were supportive and regenerative of the processes of life and existence on this planet and their shrinkage, coupled with the burgeoning population, had posed a threat to the life on earth.

The government, he said, had been launching awareness campaigns from time to time, aimed at population control and preservation of forests. He said that as a result of these efforts, the NWFP had a large reservoir of forests.

Mr Shah observed that plantation of trees made little impact on the environment given the casual attitude of the people towards the environment around them and called upon the people to protect the environment by adopting environment-friendly habits.

The governor said the saplings they were planting today would grow over the next 20 to 25 years and would symbolise the resolve of the people for the provision of safe and clean environment to the future generations.

Earlier, the director project of the Iqra University Mr Obaid-ur-Rehman said his institute believed that the planting of trees and equipping new generation with skills and qualities of excellence were all of a piece with each other.

He said that Iqra University, with eight hundred students and thirty-seven faculty members, was a mission-oriented institution and had contributed significantly towards the beautification of the city and would continue to do so in the future as well.

Mr Obaid said his institution would help the government in all sorts of campaigns aimed at saving the environment from being polluted.