‘City needs large-scale tree plantation’

Urban forest to be developed adjacent to Mazar-e-Quaid

Trees need to be planted in Karachi on a large scale to counter the impact of climate change, said Karachi commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani on Friday, adding that every institution and every citizen in the metropolis was under the obligation to keep it clean and green.

He expressed these views at the inauguration ceremony of ‘Tree Plantation and Landscaping Programme for the City of Karachi,’ launched by Community Advisory and Welfare Services (CAWS) - a non-profit organization - in collaboration with the management of Mazar-e-Quaid. The ceremony was held at Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum.

Speaking on the occasion, CWA chief Shaukat Umeri announced that an urban forest would be developed on the 16 acres of land adjacent to the mausoleum, adding that a wastewater treatment plant would also be set up there

Meanwhile, the commissioner recognised Malir and Lyari River as adequate sources of water for trees, which, he said, needed to be planted at suitable spots, including the Malir River’s banks.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2020.