‘Keep Korang Kleen’ drive organised

Islamabad
The Green Force, a non-profit trust formed by citizens Dushka Sayid, Cristina Afridi, Rafia Qasim, Saima Omer and Bilal Haq ‘for the preservation of the environment with the immediate aim to preserve and rescue the flora and fauna of the Margalla Hills, Islamabad’s parks, greenbelts and nullahs from degradation,’ organised a ‘Keep Korang Kleen’ (KKK) drive, Sunday afternoon.
The event was attended by supporters of Green Force — Senator Mushahid Hussain, CEO Nestle Magdi Batoto, DG EPA Dr Khurshid and Ehsan Mani.
CDA DG Environment Mustafain Kazmi did not show up but PTI Chairman Imran Khan did, much to the delight of the young girls and boys!
Children of Khaldunia, Headstart, SOS Village, Roshni, Schola Nova, Super Nova and ICAS schools took part in the competitive garbage collection, while many people living in the smaller houses of the colony also showed up to take part in the event.
There was a lively atmosphere at the venue with a large canopy covering a green area near the banks of the Korang in Banigala — music to perk up the participants; peak caps and T-shirts were distributed and the students all geared up to get into action.
Addressing the gathering, Cristina Afridi emphasised that it is about time we woke up and tackled environment issues with the urgency and seriousness they deserve. “Today the primary agenda of the developed world is Climate Change and environment is the concern of every citizen — without preserving Nature we will cease to exist,” she said.
“This initiative is to bring focus to the water source that is critical for the citizens of this area, as it flows into Rawal Lake that supplies water to Rawalpindi and is heavily polluted. The Filtration Plant on the lake is not equipped to prevent water born diseases.” She went on to say that a few years ago foxes, porcupines, wild boars and partridges were to be seen in abundance in the area and there were only a couple of houses but now animals were a rare sight and the illegal settlement continues to grow in what is technically a protected area.
“We need more hospitals with proper incinerators and implementation of the rules and regulations,” she said. “The clock is ticking. Let us unite and set an example to secure all human rights, which includes the sanctity of nature.” She concluded by thanking everyone for their support.
Imran Khan promised his full support not only to the drive but to clean up the whole of Pakistan when PTI came into power, which drew a spontaneous, excited response from all the people gathered at the venue — there was applause, cheers and cat calls. He concluded by acknowledging the efforts of Cristina Afridi ‘who has adopted Pakistan as her own and set an example.’
Mushahid Hussain said all political parties should work together to save the environment, while Dr Rashid and Magdi Batoto also emphasised the importance of saving the environment, with the latter telling the story of how a visitor to Switzerland threw a piece of paper on the ground which was picked up and handed back to her. “I don’t need it,” she said. To which the Swiss woman replied, “Neither does Switzerland!”
The ‘most garbage collected’ honour went to the children of the SOS Villages, which says a lot about their upbringing.
Certificates were distributed to all participants and refreshments were served. Some volunteers, especially a very active lady, ‘Lubna,’ reminded those who were discarding their juice boxes and other rubbish about the lesson they had been given that day and urged them to put it into practice — something we should all do when we see people being careless about disposal of rubbish.