Daily Times

KARACHI: More than 18,000 trees and 330 electric poles have been uprooted from different sites of undergoing development projects in Karachi by Local Government Development Project (LGDP) Directorate.

Green Line and Orange Line projects, University Road, Tariq Road, Manghopir Road, Shah-rahe-Faisal and Hub River Road are areas where Project Directorate Administration carried out the job, according to a survey conducted by different non-governmental organizations.

Electric poles on University Road and Tariq Road that could be removed carefully to retain their reuse have been pulled up with irresponsibility, claimed Ammra Jawed an environmental activist lamenting that millions of rupees will be spent to erect new electric poles that mean siphoning of big amount of money in waste.

Giving a chronological progression of uprooting trees from these sites, Naeem Qureshi an environment activist said thousands of indigenous trees such as Laal Badaam (Indian almond), Imli (tamarind), Neem, Peepal, Gulmohar, Amaltas have been removed.

Around 13 kilometers long Green Line route from Surjani to Guru Mandir will have been deprived of estimated more than 10,000 trees, Qureshi confirmed.About 5 kilometers long Orange Line from Orangi Townto Board of Secondary Education office, 1,500 trees have been uprooted. More than 1,000 trees on development route on Hub River Road and Manghopir Road have removed.

Other under-going development sites including National Highway, the job of cutting trees was underway, an official of LGDP said.

Shahab Anwer, Director General Engineering Department Karachi Metropolitan Corporation said the entity has nothing to do in the matter of uprooting of trees and electric poles at development sites. These development projects are being supervised by concerned Sindh government departments, he concluded.

Niaz Soomro. Project Director LGDP reiterated that re-plantation of trees would be made possible at all sites after completion of projects.

Availability of funds already allocated in project will be ensured to be utilized judiciously, he asserted.

Shahrah-e-Faisal would be extended by 40 to 50 feet on both sides and Natha Khan Goth Flyover would be made traffic signal free, he added.

University Road will be built in three phase and first phase will cost Rs 770 million, second phase from NED Engineering University to Sufoora Chowk will cost Rs 780 million and third phase from Mosamiyat Road willcost Rs 200 million.

The reconstruction of Tariq Road from Shaheed-e-Millat to Shahrah-e-Quaideen would cost Rs 550 million. For the last 10 years no new trees and sapling plantation has been carried out in Karachi and process of cutting trees in different parts of the city is still on.