LCCI, PHA sign MoU on tree plantation

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Lahore Division Commissioner and Parks & Horticulture Authority (PHA) for providing 100,000 saplings.

LCCI President Almas Hyder, Lahore Division Commissioner Dr Mujtaba Paracha and PHA Chairman Yasir Gilani inked the accord. LCCI Vice-President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal and LCCI Standing Committee on Environment Convener Engineer Khalid Usman and were also present on the occasion.

According to the MoU, the LCCI will provide 50,000 saplings to the Lahore division commissioner and 50,000 saplings to the PHA chairman for plantation within the Lahore division. The Lahore division commissioner and PHA chairman will be responsible to take care of the plants. They would launch tree plantation drive. The areas where the saplings might be planted include along the Lahore Ring Road spanning over a stretch of 85 km.

LCCI President Almas Hyder said that Pakistan was one of the countries where deforestation and lack of awareness about plantation was leading to the climate changes and the issue should be taken very seriously. “Trees combat climate change, clean the air, cool the weather, conserve energy, save water, help prevent water and air pollution, prevent soil erosion and create economic opportunities”, the LCCI president said.

He hoped the MoU would go a long way in ensuring clean and green Lahore besides creating awareness about the importance of plantation among the people. The Lahore division commissioner lauded the gesture of the LCCI. He said government machinery and departments would be involved to maximise the result of tree plantation drive. He said that around 75 per cent trees in Lahore had finished during the last 10 to 15 years.

Wasa to launch ‘Hazir Sir’ mobile app: Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has started developing a mobile application for its recently launched ‘Hazir Sir’ service through which public complaints would be resolved as well as monitored.

A presentation regarding the proto type of the mobile application for the service was given to Wasa Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz which was also attended by senior officials. Zahid said the service was launched to provide immediate relief and solution of problems at the doorstep of Wasa customers. He said Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar was also briefed about the new service and he appreciated the agency for introducing such a revolutionary service. Under the new service, Wasa has provided a special squad of vehicles to every division and the squad will move quickly to resolve public complaints at the earliest.

One squad of vehicles will stay at Wasa head office also. All vehicles will be branded with the service name ‘Hazir Sir’ and its mission. The MD further said the service would improve the agency’s complaint resolution ratio. He said the service would be available to every citizen and officials deputed for this service would provide all kind of customer care services to the citizens.