KARACHI, Nov 17: The city government on Saturday launched its tree-plantation programme which is to continue till a couple of hundred thousand trees have planted in the city.

Nazim Karachi Naimatullah Khan highlighted Islamic teachings regarding philanthropic works and said that basically all humans are representatives of Allah in this world, therefore it is our religious duty to pave way for the conducive environment for the next generation and end all sorts of pollution.

He urged the residents of Karachi to plant and take care of at least one tree.

He said that in 1947 Karachi was one of the most clean and beautiful cities of Asia, maintained only with the cooperation of the citizens of that time.

During the ongoing program a number of departments and individuals are also contributing their share. The Pakistan Steel Mills has already planted 18 thousand trees out of 25 thousands promised by them.

Similarly the Karachi University and six cantonment boards have announced to plant 25 thousand and 35 thousand trees respectively.

Naib Nazim Tariq Hasan lauded the efforts of individuals and departments and said that the city government was considering to allocate a large plot for trees where people could come and plant a tree in their name.

“It is necessary for all of us to take it seriously the evil of smoke and tree plantation is one of the best solutions to control it this necessary evil of smoke in Karachi,” he said.

DCO Karachi Shafiqur Rehman Paracha said that it was not a drive but a programme as it would continue till the two main objectives were achieved.

The first one is to develop a tree-loving culture among the residents of Karachi and the other one is to involve different departments into it where they should not only plant a sapling but take care of it also.

He said that though it was a supreme philanthropic work to plant a tree as natural greenery not only had soothing effects but was a basic requirement in a polluted environment.

District officer parks Hanif Nasir urged the city council to adopt a parks and tree act and make an ordinance so that those damaging greenery and cutting trees could be booked for their offence.

He said that there were about 1000 undeveloped plots of parks and playgrounds in Karachi and a number of them had been encroached upon.

He talked about different aspects of the program and said that certain technical things had been introduced into the program making it different from all previous plantation drives. “This time trees are being planted in already established gardens and parks where they can be taken care of; the other thing is that a large number of private companies are involved that will take care of trees planted by them. This will not only save a large amount of capital for the department but also help avoid extra burden on the staff,” he said.

Nazim Karachi Naimatullah Khan and about hundred schoolchildren planted coconut saplings in Bagh-e-Jinnah in the presence of chairman PERK Shahid Feroz, EDOs and prominent personalities of the city.—PPI