Plantation, cleanliness drive launched in Sector I-14

Islamabad : As part of the drive to make Islamabad clean and green, the district administration has launched a tree plantation and cleanliness drive Sector I-14.

The drive has been launched in collaboration with the Environment Wing of Capital Development Authority (CDA), non-governmental organisations and tiger force.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat while speaking on the occasion urged all the stakeholders to put in their best efforts to protect and preserve the natural environment of Islamabad.

He also lauded the efforts of the non-governmental organisations and volunteers of tiger force who have joined hands with the local administration for this purpose.

The special teams’ also comprising local people have been formed to keep vigil over the saplings being planted during this drive because it is often seen that they get dried due to lack of water while many fall victim to weather conditions and some are eaten up by animals.

The officials of the CDA’s Environment Wing have helped choose the proper sites to plant saplings that would help increase their survival rate.

It is pertinent to mention here that thousands of trees have been cut down during mega construction activities in the last few decades and on the other hand, the number of trees survived in tree plantation campaigns was quite lower than that of axed trees.

So the district administration is now focusing on increasing the survival rate of the saplings. The tree plantation campaigns launched in other spots like Fatima Jinnah Park produced better results because the administration continued to focus on the growth of the saplings throughout the year.

The CDA’s Director Environment said the civic body is focusing on planting the indigenous species, especially fruit and flower trees including Chir, Pine, Kachnar, Amaltas, Dhraik, Jacaranda, Olive and Jaman.