HARIPUR, Oct 8: Over 400,000 saplings of mixed local species are being planted at an area of 1,700 acre under a public participatory project of Sahara Development Organization (SDO) and UNDP/PTF in two union councils of Haripur district.

Qazi Kabir Ahmad, the executive director of Sahara Development Organization, informed about this to the participants of a briefing arranged here on Wednesday.

The briefing was attended by UNDP’s representative Salim Ullah, secretary environment, NWFP, Anwar-ul-Haq, provincial chief conservator forest, Mumtaz Khan and other high-ranking officials of the forest department.

The participants were told that the SDO, a Hazara-based NGO, had embarked upon a plan to plant these saplings with the help of locals and UNDP/PTF in the union councils of Pind Hashim Khan and Rakh Sarkar.

The project would be kick-started in mid-October. Qazi Kabir told the participants that care would taken to ensure that the saplings matured and took firm roots.