‘40,000 saplings planted by Lyari, Malir rivers’

Minister says govt committed to turning province clean and green

KARACHI:

As many as 10,000 saplings have been planted in Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park and another 40,000 along the Lyari and Malir Rivers, as part of the urban forest project, so far, said Sindh Forests Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Sunday.

He shared this information while visiting different parts of the city where saplings had been planted by the provincial forest department under its urban forest project.

On the occasion, he stressed the significance of planting trees to tackle deforestation resulting out of rising temperatures and environmental pollution caused by climate change.

He said that measures were being taken to make the entire province "clean and green," in line with the vision of Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and directives of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

"We will set an example for other provinces," he pledged, adding that in the first phase of the urban forest project, efforts would be aimed at turning Karachi green. "The initiative will then be expanded to cover other cities in the second phase," the minister said.

He further stated that Bilawal had not just inaugurated the project, marking the occasion by himself planting some saplings, but had also issued directives for taking special steps for the protection and growth of plants at sites covered under the project. "Bilawal also visits these sites from time to time to review the progress and measures taken for plant protection, as well as to provide guidance as and when needed," the minister claimed.

Stating that the forest department was committed to carrying forward Bilawal's mission, he said that all relevant officers in the department were performing their duties with utmost interest.

"It is our dream to see the province clean and green," he said, though maintaining that the success of the urban forest project depended on the interest of all stakeholders, including citizens. Moreover, the minister said, the media, too, would have to play an important role in this regard, highlighting the good and the bad.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2020.