KARACHI, Feb 5: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has ordered departmental action against three senior officers of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and a contracting firm, Messrs EPI, for chopping down 100 trees on Rashid Minhas road.

According to an announcement of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) here on Thursday, the nazim directed the water board to lodge an FIR against these officials and the firm.

In compliance with the nazim’s orders, the additional vice-chairman of the KWSB, Mohammad Moeen Khan, has suspended XEN Shafqat Manghan and has initiated an inquiry against chief engineer Mashkoor-ul-Hasnain and deputy project director Hasan Ejaz Kazmi.

The nazim has issued these orders during his visit to the area on the information of the command and control centre.

He said that the water board officers had adopted irresponsible behaviour and cut down trees in criminal negligence and an FIR should be lodged against them.

They should have had consulted first with the parks department if it was inevitable to chop down the trees, he noted. He said that these trees could have been saved.

He said that the city government had been planting saplings and most of them have taken roots and grown into trees in the past four months.

There were clear instructions for any department and utility to obtain prior permission from the parks department for digging in area having trees and parks, he said.

Meanwhile, the City Wardens and the director parks have arrested two employees of the contracting firm while they were fleeing from the scene. They have been identified as Gulzar and Ahmed Shah.—APP