Volunteer Task Force launched to make Peshawar clean & green

PESHAWAR: Launching Volunteer Task Force for “Clean and Green Peshawar” the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Tuesday said the historic Balahisar Fort will be opened to general public with consultation of the military leadership for cultural activities and tourism.
He formally launched the 1760-member Deputy Commissioner Volunteer Task Force, mostly college and university students willing to help the government in public interest initiatives.
The volunteers would particularly help the local administration in making Peshawar city clean and green. The volunteers, who according to Deputy Commissioner Riaz Khan Mahsud are mostly master’s degree holders and graduates, would volunteer for work during peace and disasters.
Imran Khan said he would meet Army chief General Raheel Sharif to request him to get the Balahisar Fort vacated from the Frontier Corps so they can establish hotels and restaurants there.
He said there is no proper recreation place for the people of Peshawar and the government wanted to convert Balahisar Fort into a tourist resort where families could visit to enjoy view of the city.
Imran Khan said the FC had already been provided enough space in Hayatabad, where they had built a spacious camp.The previous Awami National Party-led government had also made a similar demand to the military but could not pursue it.
Imran Khan said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had made a plan to demolish the Peshawar Central Jail to build a spacious public park there. He said the jail would be built outside the city.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader praised the spirit and commitment of volunteers and told them the next generations would remember their services with good words.“We definitely appreciate you but the coming generations will remember you as you are doing a job that we should have done earlier,” he remarked.
He said during his 19 years in politics, he had travelled all over the country and found cities and villages equally polluted.Accusing the previous governments of ignoring provision of basic civic facilities, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief said 4,000 years old Mohenjo Daro had better sanitation system than the present Pakistan. He said 200,000 children die by drinking contaminated water in Pakistan and the polluted environment was reducing life expectancy by 16 years.
Imran Khan lamented the ruthless deforestation in the country, particularly in
Pakistan’s northern areas, and urged the volunteers to play a role in plantation of one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said global warming was a serious threat and Pakistan was among 10 countries that had become a victim of global warming.The PTI chief said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had planted 100 million trees so far and would plant another 250 million by March 2016.
“I am proud of government officials like Riaz Khan Mahsud. No deputy commissioner in the past had done such a great job by creating a task force of volunteers. This is because we de-politicised bureaucracy and appointed officers on merit,” the PTI leader told the gathering at the packed Nishtar Hall.
Imran Khan said Peshawar once used to be a city of gardens and people took drinking water in bottles from here to the rest of the country as it was more pure than mineral water.“Unfortunately, Peshawar has now become one of the polluted cities in the country. We will make it a model city of the province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a model province in the country,” he pledged.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak claimed the people would feel a visible change in the province within six months.He said the government had decided to extend the services of Water and Sanitation Services (WSSP) to all divisional headquarters of the provinces.
He also praised Riaz Mahsud and congratulated him for initiating the Volunteers Task Force.Local Government Minister Inayatullah Khan said Rs29 billion is being spent on development and beautification of Peshawar to restore its lost charm. He said in the past funds meant for development of the city used to go into the pockets of some individuals.
Deputy Commissioner Riaz Mahsud said he had developed sanitation system based on modern day requirements. He said untrained sanitation workers had been replaced by trained and efficient workers.
He suggested that the Volunteers Task Force should be extended to the entire province. He said among the 1,760 volunteers, 165 were females. “One of them was a person with disability,” he added.