Volunteers to carry out cleanliness drive in spring

Islamabad: A number of volunteer groups are now planning to carry out cleanliness campaigns during the upcoming spring at the recreational spots of the capital city especially parks and hiking tracks.

“It must be part of our national action plan to hold cleanliness drives in our respective areas or cities because making environment clean is a common cause and we must play our due role in this regard,” said Haleem Khan, who manages a group of volunteers.

He said they had mostly focused on Lake View Park last year and cleaned out its five major areas on weekly basis, adding “This year we will also visit hiking tracks and collect wrappers especially plastic rubbish that adversely impacts the natural environment.”

Another group of volunteers is also making plans to collect rubbish from comparatively hardest hiking trails because it thinks that rubbish anywhere would be harmful to natural character of the city.

Ahsan Rahim, a volunteer, said most of the time the volunteers and employees of the civic authority collect rubbish from the places that are easily accessible but it is necessary to remove waste from all the sites. “Unfortunately, no fine is imposed on the visitors who throw waste in open spaces without taking caring of the natural surroundings,” he said.