Tree plantation drive: Enraged residents uproot saplings in Bara

BARA: Dozens of enraged residents belonging to the Sipah tribe uprooted the saplings planted on a piece of land in Mandikas area in Bara tehsil of Khyber district on Sunday.

They claimed that the land belonged to them and the government did not take the tribe into confidence before plantation drive. “We have inherited this land from our forefathers, but the government did not take us into confidence before for launching tree plantation drive, a protester said. A video that went viral on the social media showed scores of people mostly youngsters uprooting the saplings.

Many Twitter users while commenting on the development expressed anguish over the incident. Meanwhile, district forest officer told the media persons that the first information report would be registered against those who destroyed the trees.

Earlier, the tree plantation drive was launched in Mandikas area in Bara in the presence of the local elected public representatives and the government officials. Member National Assembly (MNA) Iqbal Afridi, Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shafiq Afridi, Deputy Commissioner Khyber Mahmood Aslam Wazir, Assistant Commissioner Bara Naik Muhammad Bangash and District Forest Officer Fazal Elahi inaugurated billion tree plantation campaign.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Mahmood Aslam Wazir said 35,000 saplings would be planted in Bara. “About 14,000 saplings are being planted in plain areas in Bara while the rest would be planted in hilly areas in Tirah valley,” the DC said, adding while several departments were participating in the plantation campaign.

MNA Iqbal Afridi said that government had set a target of planting billion trees during the current campaign. "A successful plantation campaign could ensure a bright future for our coming generation," Iqbal Afridi added. He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was striving to make Pakistan greener.