PHA uproots trees on Murree Road

As the government pushes for Ten Billion Tree Tsunami, the Rawalpindi Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) have uprooted fully grown trees from the median of the Murree Road. The operation for cutting trees continued for three hours on Saturday.

The move is a big blow to the Prime Minister’s Clean and Green initiative.

These trees were planted on one kilometre (km) long track from Chandni Chowk to Sixth Road on Murree Road. They were planted during the tenure of the previous government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and had reached the height of five feet and more. However, the PHA has uprooted them all along with the grills installed on the median strip.

On contact, PHA Director General (DG) Shafqat Raza initially refuted any such activity however when The Express Tribune correspondent told him that he has photos, the officer asserted that the land had become dead. He added that new trees would be planted on the site.

Earlier, the PHA had done exapensive plantation from Metro Bus Saddar Station to Pak Secretariat on the median strip of Murree Road at the commencement of the Metro Bus Service between the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. However, all these saplings have grown big but a number of them were cut down by the authority, leaving a harsh impact on the environment.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2020.