KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has expressed his annoyance over the cutting of trees along Sharea Faisal, and ordering an inquiry into it directed the commissioner of Karachi to arrest the culprits.

On Wednesday night some unscrupulous elements chopped down over a dozen trees on Sharea Faisal, near the Star Gate. This was the second incident of its nature as earlier some two weeks ago over two dozen trees were chopped down on Shaheed-i-Millat Road.

The chief minister said where the officers responsible were when the unauthorised people, who came there with required machinery, were chopping trees. “This is sheer negligence and connivance of officers concerned which enabled this mishap, otherwise nobody could dare to go to such an extent,” he said.

He directed commissioner Asif Hyder Shah to register a case against the unknown culprits and get them arrested at the earliest and report it to him. “We are working hard to improve environment and making efforts to plant trees and give them ownership but some unscrupulous elements are cutting trees,” he said and added that it was a very serious issue and must be taken seriously.

On the commissioner’s directive, the deputy commissioner-East, Asif Jan Siddqui, got an FIR registered against the suspects who had come in a mini-truck bearing the number JZ0768.The trees chopped after midnight stood some 200 metres from the Star Gate opposite the Metro shopping centre. On information, KMC official Tanveer Ahmad reached there, but by then the suspect had escaped.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2016