Fruit orchards planted by PDA in Hayatabad growing well

PESHAWAR: The fruit trees planted by the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) in Hayatabad are growing well in different parts of the posh town.

The PDA has planted orchards of different fruits in Hayatabad and its horticulture staff is taking care of the plants. They take care of the plants and protect the orchards. Some of the trees were planted under the project “Fruits for All” initiated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman. It is one of his pet projects, though it is confined until now to parts of Peshawar only. The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) had agreed to sponsor the project for growing orchards of guavas, lemon and plums.

From its own resources, the PDA has grown an orchard of about 120 citrus fruit (malta) in a patch of land beside a stream (khwar) on the Phase 3 road. The plants are quite healthy. The PDA has also planted mango trees in the area near Shalman Park and the dry streams in Hayatabad. It has planted date-palms on the median strip in the centre of the roads and at the roundabouts. The date-palm trees are coming up in Phase 7 and on the roads near Itwar Bazaar. The date-palms have also been planted in the Regi town.

The guava orchard with about 100 trees is located in the I-5 sector of Phase 7. The orchard of plums having more than 60 trees is also located in Phase 7. An orchard of lemons has also been planted and has 100-plus plants. Hayatabad despite its sandy soil is known for its greenery. Trees have been planted everywhere and flowers are in abundance. There are dozens of parks in Hayatabad, including big ones like Bagh-i-Naran, Ghani Bagh, Tatara Park and Shalman Park. Its residents take pride in living in a modern town with all amenities and lot of greenery.

Though residents have planted all kinds of fruit trees in their houses, most of them said the mangoes harvested in Hayatabad are particularly of a high quality. “Our mangoes are sweet and juicy,” said Salahuddin, a retired banker living in Sector F-1 in Hayatabad’s Phase 6. Some of the residents noted that guavas, apricots, plums, oranges, grapes, figs, etc also grow well in Hayatabad.

A resident having two fig trees in his park in the house said he was surprised when they started bearing abundant fruit in the second year after plantation.

He said his home-grown figs are delicious. Manzoor Yousaf, deputy director, Horticulture, PDA said the fruit orchards are growing well and the trees would start bearing fruits in due course of time. He said the soil in Hayatabad is suitable for all kinds of trees including fruits.