Cleanliness initiative

The PTI government’s ‘Clean and Green’ campaign is a much-needed initiative for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). The campaign that was launched in Peshawar earlier this week, aims to reach all districts and villages of the province. An important part of the campaign is the building of parks on encroached land and the planting of more trees. Earlier in the year, the PTI had also launched its Billion Tree campaign in the province.

It remains to be seen how the ‘Clean and Green’ project pans out, but prioritising a cleanliness campaign for the city of Peshawar is definitely a welcome step. Pakistan is home to some of the most polluted cities in the world. Karachi ranks fifth in terms of the most polluted cities on the planet, followed by Peshawar and then Rawalpindi. The situation in this regard is dire and what is needed are not only short-term campaigns, but also long-term plans that systemise such projects so they can sustain themselves even after a particular campaign concludes. As things stand now, political leaders do not even work to improve the conditions in their own hometowns. The most obvious case in point is Larkana, the hometown of the Bhutto family. But as necessary as it is for political leaders to prioritise cleanliness in public spaces, it is also important to realise that the public’s role in making our cities both cleaner and greener is of utmost importance as well. It is a pity that citizens still need to be educated about something as basic as the dire consequences of littering and using plastic bags.

At the launch of the campaign in K-P, Imran Khan referred to the impact of global warming and said that 30 per cent of the land in the country should consist of forests, which at present is nowhere near this level. These are important and necessary conversations that we need to have. Deforestation has cost us immensely and worsened the impact of natural disasters. At present, Pakistan is among the 10 countries most impacted by climate change. Campaigns to improve the environment, therefore, are highly welcome.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th,  2015.

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