The National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) president has shown grave concern over ruthless cutting of trees in the Margalla Hills National Park and demanded pragmatic steps to safeguard and protect the park. He said the construction of underpasses, flyovers and other developments at the cost of trees’ chopping in the capital was another sad side of the picture.
Naeem Qureshi opined that temperature of the city was rising with every passing day due to cutting down of trees and its ecology was getting affected badly since the authorities failed to bring this practice to a halt.
He said the importance of trees is not hidden from anyone but the authorities concerned seemed ignorant about the role of trees in human lives and environment perspective.
There is need of more plantations instead of cutting down the trees, he said.
The NFEH president in a statement issued on Sunday said that parks were national treasures but the treasures were being looted with both hands and no one was there to stop this illicit practice.
The depletion of trees at such a fast pace will eventually result in degradation of environment on one hand and would affect the beauty on the other, he added.
Citing the media reports, he flayed that the number of deployed guards to protect the trees in the park had reduced less than half as they were reluctant to perform duties in hills. He said the report also revealed that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) staff was involved in cutting down trees besides villagers.
Terming the fine imposed on cutting down of trees very meager, the NFEH president suggested to raise the fine to sufficient level and exercising it in letter and sprit in order to bring the graph of trees chopping below. He particularly mentioned that areas behind the Faisal Mosque were losing trees fast.
Naeeem maintained that the National Park was fast losing acacias (that burnt well), berry trees, zizyphus and kachnaar. These are being replaced by wild bushes harmful for flora and fauna, he noted.
Some areas behind the air force and navy colonies were cleared and trees were trimmed by the forces for better visibility because of security reasons,” he concluded.
