Down memory lane with a Neem tree before an unceremonious exit

50-year-old tree at the intersection of Khalid Bin Waleed and Sir Syed roads to be chopped down.

KARACHI: For everyone else it is only a naked Neem tree. But for Muhammad Zahid Khan, it is the place from where he navigates through the memories of old times spent with friends. Although it has been a long time since Zahid’s friends moved on, the memories are still fresh in his mind.

The branches of the 50-year-old tree which stands at the intersection of Khalid bin Waleed and Sir Syed roads were cut this week. But before all of it could be chopped down, a social activist chased the municipality workers away with bricks in her hands.

As he continues to talk about the tree, Zahid’s memories become more vivid.

“We knew what grew on the trees in the area,” he says. “There were mangoes, bananas and all sorts of fruit growing in different houses. The boys would climb the walls and jump on to the branches.” This was the area along Khalid bin Waleed Road in PECHS during the 1970s.

“A Yugoslavian family lived at the house on plot 144-A. In 145 G, the Indian consul general used to live... Someone named Talwar. The US consul general’s assistant lived in 145 B. He had a daughter named Shelly... She was a good friend.”

But everything is different now.

The old houses, with round balconies and big wooden windows, have been replaced by drab concrete apartments and car showrooms.

The first casualty of development has been the trees, says Zahid, who is also a lawyer at the Sindh High Court. He is working on a case to try and stop the authorities from cutting them down in the area. Not many people came forward to support his cause, but he seems to understand. “It’s not that the residents don’t care. It’s the fear of getting stuck in expensive court battles that keeps them away.”

What the law says

There are different laws in the country for the protection of trees. From Article 9 of the constitution, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997, to the Sindh Plantation, Maintenance of Trees and Public Parks Ordinance of 2002, all have clauses about chopping down trees. Section 9 of the Maintenance of Trees and Public Parks Ordinance of 2002 states: “No person shall remove, cut, damage, or displace any plant, shrub, tree or a branch at any public place, including, a park.” While, Section 10 states: “Any person who violates the law will be fined Rs25,000.”

According to the ordinance, the correct way to go about cutting a tree is to obtain permission from the government.

Those who love trees

Amber Alibhai of Shehri, an environment protection organisation, says that the Neem tree also provided shade for those who waited at the bus stop. “Termites don’t attack Neem trees,” she says. “Otherwise, many other breeds of trees in the same area have been destroyed by intentionally infecting them with termites.”

She alleges that the builders bribe the officials of the Karachi Municipal Corporation to cut down the trees. “Trimming is one thing, but what is the point of chopping an entire tree down?”

She said that the Neem tree in question was cut down on a holiday despite there being a stay order against it.

“The young generation has cars to travel in and computers at home to keep them busy,” she says. “But we remember the greenery because we used to walk and play outside all the time.”

Meanwhile, the tree at the corner, has also become the focal point for the people fighting against unplanned development, tilted a bit too much towards commercialisation.

“Only 2.5 per cent of Karachi’s total area is estimated to be green excluding the gardens in people’s homes,” says Tahir Qureshi of the International Union of Conservation of Nature.

The only major green area in the city is Bin Qasim Park, he says, the rest are too small. “Whatever trees we see on the roads are not enough.”

Despite repeated attempts, the director general of parks and horticulture, Liaquat Ali Khan, could not be reached on his cell phone.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2012.