GUJRANWALA: Unidentified people damaged hundreds of saplings on Tuesday planted to set the world record in Gujranwala.

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has decided to take legal action against the suspect. Earlier on Monday, the police had registered a case against a PML-N MPA for snatching saplings.

PHA Chairman SA Hameed told Dawn the PHA with the district administration set a world record of planting 52,000 saplings in 40 seconds recently.

In some blocks, unidentified persons cut down the plants. He said those elements were being identified while new plants were being planted in place of the damaged ones.

He added damaging a plant was a crime for which the punishment is a fine of Rs500,000 and six-month imprisonment for the first-time offender and a fine of Rs1 million for the repeater and imprisonment for up to one year. He said the plants were being watered in two shifts.

Mr Hameed said the PHA staff was working day and night to take care of the saplings planted to set the world record. All field staffers’ vacations have also been canceled so that the newly planted fruit plants can grow and become grown-up trees.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2021