ISLAMABAD: Despite the planting of millions of trees every year by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in federal capital, the precious greenery has started disappearing from the city due to the massive tree cutting and poor management.
The trees that bloom in different colours during different seasons in Islamabad are continuously dying at an alarming.
The federal city has remained famous for its natural beauty. No wonder, the number of dead trees is increasing with each passing day.
The unfortunate trend is resulting in the rapid shrinking of most of the greenbelts with adverse effects on the environment, on the other hand, increasing population of the city, noise, dust, smoke and all the other kinds of pollution are also affecting its environment.
According to a resident of sector F-11, Shakir Khan, the greenbelts located in F series had the largest number of dead trees. Greenery, which once was a hallmark of federal capital, now only existed in the lawns of posh sectors.
There was a dire need to protect old trees, before they would vanish forever, he opined.
"Preservation of old trees is a common practice in the developed countries, but the civic body has not made any efforts to tackle the challenge," another resident Faheem Akhtar said.
The CDA had chopped thousands of trees in the last few years, said Faheem, adding that the authority conducted a two-day-long tree plantation campaign every year in which hundreds of thousands of saplings were planted, but surprisingly, the result was quite opposite, as the tree covered area in Islamabad was decreasing.
"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 was no effective monitoring mechanism for the newly-planted trees and not enough staff to look after the saplings, he added. As a result, most of the saplings die within days of their plantation.
According to a senior officer of Environment wing of CDA,out of the total planted saplings, more than 70 percent plants had grown under strict monitoring, while further measures would be taken to improve their survival rate.
The authority had increased the number of new saplings from 400,000 to 500,000 during the tree plantation campaign, he added.
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