KARACHI, Sept 15: Trees are being mercilessly cut down in Karachi on the pretext of security of installations and construction and widening of roads, and thousands of trees have already been cut down, only to deprive the city of its greenery.
As the authorities are indulging in massacre of trees, the environment department is keeping a silence and is yet to initiate action to stop this vandalism.
Inquiries revealed that engineers and contractors of the city government and other agencies, carrying out road reconstruction and repair throughout the city, are indulging in rampant tree felling in the absence of any guidelines from the city government for saving trees for the convenience of people, especially traveling public.
The victims include coconut, peepal, neem and eucalyptus grown along major roads in North Nazimabad, Korangi, Malir and other areas.
Inquiries further revealed that hundreds of thousands of trees have been cut down in the entire city in the name of expansion and widening of roads by various civic agencies, including the city district government.
The city government has designed and reconstructed about a dozen roads in the 18 towns of Karachi and water and sewerage lines have been laid, and in all this exercise hundreds of trees have been cut down by contractors in the presence of city government’s supervisory staff who lack any directives from the higher authorities regarding relocation/shifting of precious trees.
While a majority of trees has been uprooted to widen roads, others have been eliminated in the name of security in high security zones where cameras have been installed.
A number of trees grown around the Karachi Press Club have also been cut down for unknown reasons.
Other roads where trees have been uprooted during the last couple of years include M. A. Jinnah Road, Sharea Faisal, Marriot Hotel Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karsaz Road, Stadium Road and University Road.
Moreover, date trees acquired by the former city nazim and grown along Sharea Faisal and other areas are also facing neglect as some of them have dried up owing to their improper upkeep by the concerned department of the city government.
Last month, a tree fell victim to neglect by the KWSB and collapsed in Malir, falling on a portion of a mosque. This one was also cut into pieces by municipal workers and contractors.
Citizens have questioned rationale behind cutting trees when heavy machinery is being used at present for road repairs, and trees can no be easily shifted from one place to the other.
Millions of rupees are spent annually on tree-plantation drives, but hardly any serious effort is made to save trees from the timber mafia who, with the connivance of city government staff, indulges in rampant tree cutting.
Former city mayor Dr Farooq Sattar had put a ban on cutting of trees, and advised the authorities during his tenure that instead of cutting trees, these, especially old ones, be relocated, but no such directives have been issued the present city government set up. As a result, contractors carrying out road reconstruction have excessively been indulging in cutting of trees.
The KESC staff, too, is party to the savagery. The Faisal Cantonment Board recently cut trees along Sharea Faisal and replaced them with flowers and grass.
More than 100 trees on Begum Khursheed Road in Malir were cut down during reconstruction of the road.
In Korangi, a large number of trees were uprooted on both sides of the Road 8,000, and other roads in the township.
Trees were cut on National Stadium Road while initiating work on the overhead bridge, while on Karsaz Road, these were uprooted to widen the road.
Similarly, a few trees were removed on Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road. On both sides of M. A. Jinnah Road, trees have vanished while at Regal Chowk, in order to construct footpath, all trees have been eliminated.
Similar was the fate of trees at Sohrab Goth, on a part of the University Road and on Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani Road.
Moreover, about 50 eucalyptus trees in front of the Security Printing Press are to face the same fate as intended the by the city government contractors as part of their plan to reconstruct the Jinnah Avenue.
Nature lovers have questioned rampant cutting of trees throughout the city, and said the city government should have chalked out a plan to relocate trees as used to be done in the past by the now defunct KMC.
