ISLAMABAD: Despite the planting of millions of trees every year by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in the federal capital, the precious greenery has started disappearing from the city due to the massive tree culling and poor management of the civic body.
The trees that bloom in different colours during different seasons in Islamabad are continuously dying at an alarming rate because of the negligence of the CDA.
The federal city has remained famous for its natural beauty. No wonder, the number of dead trees is increasing with each passing day as a result of the slackness on the part of the environment wing of the civic body.
The unfortunate trend is resulting in the rapid shrinking of most of the greenbelts with adverse effects on the environment, as the population of the city is increasing while noise, dust, smoke and all the other kinds of pollution is increasing.
According to a resident of sector F-10, Waleed Khan, the greenbelts located in F series have the largest number of dead trees. Greenery, which once was a hallmark of Islamabad, now only exists in the lawns of posh sectors of the capital, and so, old trees need to be protected before they vanish forever, he opined.
Preservation of old trees is a common practice in the developed countries, but the CDA has not made any efforts to tackle the challenge, another resident Naeem Khan said.
The CDA has chopped thousands of trees in the last few years, said Khan. He added that the CDA conducts a two-day-long tree plantation campaign every year in which hundreds of thousands of saplings are planted, but surprisingly, the result is quite opposite, as the tree cover in Islamabad is decreasing at an alarming rate.
While the survival rate of the saplings is also a matter of great concern, the CDA’s directorate shows enthusiasm only during the campaign, and the passion subsides with the passage of time.
There is no effective monitoring mechanism for the newly-planted trees and not enough staff to look after the saplings. As a result, most of them die within days of their plantation.
According to a CDA Environment member, Sanaullah Aman, out of the total planted saplings, more than 70 percent plants have grown thanks to strict monitoring, while further measures will be taken to improve their survival rate.
The authority has increased the number of new saplings from 400,000 to 500,000 during the tree plantation campaign, he added.
