April 15, 2004

Throughout Karachi, numerous trees are being cut down to make way for billboards. The city already lacks greenery and needs plantation of trees instead, writes Atif Khan

On the nights of November 1 and 2 last year, a crime was committed that went unnoticed. Across the road from a large hotel on Karachi’s Sharae Faisal, and at the doorstep of a local military establishment, men armed with axes began to chop down a beautiful and fully grown eucalyptus tree. Their mission was to make way for a large advertising billboard that would only serve the purpose of polluting Karachi’s skyline and reduce this already deprived city of its precious greenery.

The men commenced a little after midnight and were done chopping the tree in half in just a few hours. When the billboard was up a couple of days later, the tree still managed to obstruct the board’s vie, and message.Once again the men were called in and chopped the tree to no less than a few feet in height.

Today if you happen to pass by the traffic signal of the aforementioned area, you will see a shrub that was a tree once upon a time. That tree which served this polluted city with honour and dignity was cut down by the greed of man. And right next to it, is a big metal hoarding that is selling cheap imported trucks that will no doubt, pollute our city more. It is a pollution which that tree was strong enough to handle.

In the past year, since the city government embarked on a supposedly enthusiastic drive of planting hundreds of date palms all across the town, more trees have been cut than have been planted.

The reason for cutting trees is often cited as ‘development’. That catch phrase includes repairing waterlines, expanding the road network and worst of all planting billboards to get the message of the advertisers through. And the authorities — be they the city district government of Karachi, the provincial authorities, federal authorities and the military personnel of the Cantonment Boards — are all happily playing their part in Karachi’s environmental destruction.

The tree that was cut down to make way for the towering billboard stands within the grounds of the station headquarters of a local military unit. It seems that all the money running into the military’s coffers isn’t enough. So now they have unscrupulous elements bidding for their office space and cutting down trees to erect billboards.

Of late, a couple of larger more monumental billboards have been erected within the premises of this particular military office.

Just down the road on a patch of greenery there’s ample proof that Pakistanis have lost it altogether. There, an airline has erected plastic trees to beautify its front end. Wow! Cut trees to make way for trees that were made by environment polluting material. I have yet to find a more insane scheme than this one.

If the armed forces, who are revered by the majority of the population for their professionalism and integrity, can do it, then why can’t the local bodies indulge in some tree cutting of their own? And so they did, quite viciously, on the main roads of North Nazimabad. Last year, dozens of trees were cut to size on the once lush green roads of the area. But this time, it weren’t the billboards to blame, it was just plain simple greed. The cut trees were handed over to some wood dealer. More trees were cut to widen the main thoroughfare at the Five-Star roundabout. More space made for more pollution causing cars and more trees cut that could have help counter that pollution.

Similar devastation can be seen these days on one of the main thoroughfares of the city, like Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola Road. As all of us know, this is the road that caters to the PNS Karsaz installations. But here too, a whole swath of greenery and eye pleasing beauty has been hacked to smithereens so that, once again, more space can be made for vehicles. If I remember correctly, this area falls under the jurisdiction of Pakistan Navy.

But the local authorities, manning the administration in and around Tipu Sultan Road, are conducting the whole tree cutting business in their own unique perspective. Fully grown eucalyptuses have been chopped off from two roundabouts of this illustrious road. A fountain has been installed in their place on one and another is in the process of being installed at the other.

One would want to know the name of the horticulturist who was consulted before the decision to make way for those fountains by cutting trees was taken. Because if there isn’t one, then it seems President Musharraf’s grand devolution plan is being misused for the misguided ideals of these elected representatives. All the nazims of the city seem to be empowering themselves by taking decisions without consulting any professional of the field.

It would have been better if the authorities responsible for roads were to take stock of their poor condition. They should make arrangements for the smooth flow of traffic rather than exhibit their idiosyncrasies by throwing an axe wielding madman in the midst of tall life-supporting trees.

A year ago, the city government came up with a brilliant excuse for chopping trees. It axed numerous eucalyptus trees just to make way for date palms. Now, this is akin to killing your elder son to make way for your younger son. Bravo, Mr Nazim, bravo. And of those supposedly thousands of date palms that the city government brought for plantation, a year on, some of them are dying while others have disappeared.

The pains of a being a tree aren’t just aren’t suffered only at the hands of government functionaries. There are those individuals who consider trees to be a nuisance. People in my neighborhood, for example, don’t plant trees in front of their 1,000 square yards bungalow because they fear somebody (an enemy or a relative) will come and hang an amulet on the tree that will eventually bring economic ruin to their thriving businesses. If I get this thinking right then according to this philosophy all trees of the city should be turned into firewood.

One of the worst traffic signals in the town is also the one with the heaviest concentration of billboards in the city. The Schon Circle signal in Clifton has billboards shoving into your face. If only this roundabout could have shady trees instead of tin, steel and paint.

I have a challenge for all of you managing directors and chief executives. Let’s see you plant trees on Sharae Faisal and vow to never hurt a twig of these trees for the purpose of advertising. Let’s have a sign that says: “The greenest road in the city, sponsored by ...”. Instead of cutting trees and installing eyesores why don’t you stop cutting trees and start planting some and become environmental in its truest sense?

Trees are beautiful as they provide people with shade and birds and animals with homes. It gives a sense of security and pride that we co-exist with animals in a civilized society. We go to the northern areas and to the West for vacations only so that we have a green vacation. Why not have a green city and have people come to us for their vacation?

The trees on Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad are blooming with the arrival of spring — bringing a smile to the faces of pedestrians and an increase in the colourful bird activity in the area.

There are still patches of beautiful tall trees in Karachi that have not been eyed by the greedy businessmen of this city. One of them is the stretch of road beginning from the signal at Central Jail and ending at the edge of the former Sabzi Mandi. I ask all of you readers to make an effort to help preserve the trees of this city. It would be better if we joined hands right away making it a better place for the asthmatics of the city who are already struggling for breathable air in the city. One of them could be you.

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