CM launches Clean and Green Pakistan drive in KP

Published April 10, 2019
Students plant saplings in Lower Dir on Tuesday. — Dawn
Students plant saplings in Lower Dir on Tuesday. — Dawn

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday launched the Clean and Green Pakistan drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and warned that his government would launch a crackdown on traders using plastic shopping bags as these had played havoc with the beauty of the province by not only littering but also by endangering biodiversity of the province.

The chief minister also appealed to citizens and traders’ community to cooperate with the government and start utilising biodegradable bags, already available in the market, in order to contribute to beautification of the province.

He expressed these views after launching the Clean and Green Pakistan drive organised by Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) and Peshawar Zalmi Foundation here, according to a statement.

Mahmood Khan warns traders against dealing in unsafe plastic bags

The WSSP in collaboration with Zalmi Foundation also launched the Youth Ambassador programme aimed at encouraging youth of the province to keep their homes and streets clean. Interested people can become members of the programme by filling out a registration form available on WSSP website.

While addressing the participants, the chief minister lauded the efforts undertaken by the WSSP for implementing the Clean and Green Pakistan initiative.

In Lower Dir, the district administration, the district government and tehsil municipalities in collaboration with the forest department launched the Clean and Green Pakistan initiative.

Deputy commissioner Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and district nazim Mohammad Rasool Khan inaugurated the plantation drive during a function at Timergara Rest House.

Teachers, students, Levies personnel, civil defence volunteers and social activists participated in plantation drive. Students were asked to plant at least one tree during the drive.

On the occasion, the deputy commissioner said the tree plantation drive would be extended to all parts of the district.

He said the local administration and the forest department had planned to plant 1.5 million saplings this year.

The district nazim assured all the stakeholders of his full support and assistance to make the drive a success.

Later, the participants held an awareness walk in the city, carrying banners and placards with slogans in favour of plantation drive.

In Shangla, awareness walks were held in Alpuri and Bisham under the banner of Clean and Green Pakistan drive on Tuesday. Saplings were also planted on the occasion.

Participants of the walk marched through the Alpuri Bazaar.

The deputy commissioner, divisional forest officer and others planted saplings on the Shangla campus of the University of Swat.

In Bisham, a walk was also held where the participants carried banners inscribed with the significance of clean and green environment.

On the occasion, assistant commissioner, Bisham, Wajid Ali, said people should keep their surroundings neat and clean for friendly environment. He urged the traders that besides keeping fronts of their shops clean, they should also plant saplings wherever it was possible.

In Kohat, launching the Clean and Green Pakistan campaign deputy commissioner Matiullah Shah urged the officials to follow ‘good governance strategy’ of the government.

He said the district administration had set an initial target of planting 10,000 saplings which would be expanded across the district at later stages.

He emphasised that plants protected humans from climatic change, floods, natural disasters, kept the atmosphere clean and healthy. He stressed that it was duty of every individual to look after the planted saplings so that they could grow into trees.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Killing fields
Updated 09 Jul, 2025

Killing fields

Israeli state seeks to ethnically cleanse the occupied territories of their Palestinian inhabitants, and forever obstruct the chances of a viable Palestinian state.
Crypto rush
09 Jul, 2025

Crypto rush

STEP by step, Pakistan is, at least on paper, moving closer to recognising, adopting and regulating cryptocurrencies...
Another plan
09 Jul, 2025

Another plan

FAILING to plan is planning to fail, as the old saying goes. This seems to have occurred in the case of Karachi, a...
Green tokenism
Updated 08 Jul, 2025

Green tokenism

Climate decisions must be based on facts, not politics — guided by independent science and open to public scrutiny.
Cotton decline
08 Jul, 2025

Cotton decline

PAKISTAN’S cotton economy is in a crisis. Production has fallen from a peak of 14m bales 10 years ago to 5.5m ...
Pet problems
08 Jul, 2025

Pet problems

PAKISTANIS’ obsession with exotic pets keeps ending in tragedy. Incidents like the recent lion attack in a Lahore...