Eco unfriendly: KWSB draws ire over plan to uproot trees

The water board wants to cut down trees that are damaging their water pipelines

KARACHI: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) should not blame their inefficiency on the trees that provide oxygen to the city and should instead focus on enhancing their own system, said the deputy director of the parks and horticulture department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Nadeem Hanif.

He was speaking to The Express Tribune in response to a press statement issued by the KWSB where its managing director Misbahuddin Farid demanded chopping off trees along the routes of its pipelines.

In the press statement released on Friday, Farid demanded the municipal authorities, including cantonment boards, remove eucalyptus, conocarpus and other trees as their roots have penetrated underground water pipelines, causing hurdles in water supply. He also said that they have found 25 to 30 foot-long roots in the pipelines, therefore the trees above these pipelines should be immediately removed.

However, Hanif was of the view that it takes 10 to 15 years for a tree to grow and cutting them in a single day for such a thing is very painful for him. He said he is worried about the number of trees that have been chopped up in the past years in the name of development work.

He added that God knows what is coming this summer, as instead of increasing plantation, greenery has been reduced in the name of development work. We will fight such actions at any cost and will demand the water board either fix their pipelines or replace them but we will not sacrifice our trees, he vowed.

Farid said KWSB has written to the authorities to remove the trees immediately and threatened that the KWSB would take action if nothing was done.

We are not against trees but eucalyptus specifically spreads it roots towards moisture, such as our pipelines, he explained, adding that it should be removed immediately, as well as other problematic trees. Farid point blank refused to participate in a plantation campaign as a conciliatory gesture for those opposing the removal of the trees.

Horticulturist and ecologist Rafiul Haq said the situation has emerged due lack of planning. The KWSB should point out problematic trees and their location and later the relevant department should remove them in such a way that they can be replanted elsewhere.

However, he said that usually people find situations like this as an opportunity and chop down trees for their own interest, which should not happen. The relevant authorities should ensure that only trees that are causing problems are removed, said Haq.

He explained that while there are types of trees, such as eucalyptus, which penetrate the ground vertically and can easily pierce concrete pipelines. However, we should also learn more about trees before planting them and focus on trees with roots that grow horizontally, he said.

Sharing his views on urban planning, chairperson of NED University's department of architecture and planning Dr Noman Ahmed said authorities should focus on finding alternatives to removing trees, KWSB should also replace its older pipelines and should adopt modern technology like replacing the concrete pipelines with PVC pipes, as many countries have also adopted this.

He added that no roots can penetrate PVC pipes and no one will be able to create illegal connections from a PVC pipeline, as a small hole can damage the whole pipeline, therefore PVC has a lot of benefits.

He was of the view that this will help them in the long run, as step-by-step we should improve our existing system.