SWABI, Feb 18: The Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) will plant 3.5 million sapling in the ongoing plantation season. These saplings will be provided free to growers of Swabi, Mardan and other areas.

This was stated by the chief conservator of forest, Ghazi Marjan Khan  while inaugurating the afforestation at  PTC’s  leaf department Firdousabad here on Monday.

Ghazi Marjan called upon the growers to collect saplings from the PTC nursery and distribution points which had been set up in Yar Hussain, Faujoonabad and Firdousabad. Besides, he said distribution points had also been established in Takhtbhai and Shergarh, (Mardan) Azeemabad and Mandani (Charsadda), Swat, Buner, Mansehra and Gujrat.

He urged the growers to participate in the plantation campaign.

Speaking on the occasion, the PTC leaf director Alain Schacher said that since 1981 his company had participated in the plantation campaign which was needed for environmental protection.

In this campaign, he said, school children, teachers and different NGOs had extended a helping hand.

“Each year the PTC produced two million saplings in its own nurseries and the remaining 1.5 million had been purchased which were later on distributed free among the people,” he said.

The PTC area manger Tilawat Khan said that in the total 3.5 million saplings more than one million would be planted in district Swabi, the main areas of plantation are Charbagh and its suburbs, Yar Hussain, Tehsil Chhotta Lahore, Saleem Khan Maneri and Razar belt, he added.