Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday kicked off countrywide ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ drive to tackle the challenges of swelling pollution and global warming with a resolve to inherit a cleaner Pakistan, even more than Europe.

The prime minister launched the action day of the ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ at Islamabad College for Girls by planting a sapling and sweeping the lawn of the college.

Holding the broom, the white-clad prime minister also picked the garbage and disposed it of before washing hands to teach the youngsters the proper cleanliness methods.

On the first day of the nationwide movement, ceremonies were held across the country to clean the localities and plant trees, which were joined by general public as well as the government authorities.

The prime minister was accompanied by his Adviser on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, special assistants Iftikhar Durrani and Naeem-ul-Haq and Senator Faisal Javed, besides representatives of the international organizations.

While launching the cleanliness drive, the prime minister also interacted with students on the climate change and pollution, who also joined him in cleanliness and tree plantation.

Addressing the ceremony later, the prime minister congratulated students and teachers of the college for holding a successful launching ceremony of the five-year long drive for a cleaner and greener Pakistan.

The prime minister recalled the remarkable role played by the students for fund raising of Shaukat Khanum Hospital across the country and urged them to replicate the same dedication for this drive. He said after dismal response from the people, it was the students under the umbrella of ‘Imran Tigers’ who proved catalyst to collect funding for the hospital, besides creating awareness and hoped that they could bring success to this drive too if they resolved to transform the country.

The prime minister said that his government would inherit a Pakistan, which would be cleaner even than Europe.

He expressed concerns over the polluted river in the country and swelling pollution to an alarming level in Lahore, particularly in winter.

He said according to a study, excessive pollution shortens the life expectancy by average 11 years.

“The swelling pollution will mar the future of our upcoming generations,” he added.

Besides cleanliness, enhancement of the green cover was equally essential as Pakistan was seventh most affected country by the global warming, he maintained.

He said after successful completion of billion tree tsunami in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the government had launched a five-year 10 billion tree tsunami across the country.

He said the glaciers would be depleting fast if the world failed to tackle the challenge of global warming and the world would become unliveable for the future generation.

He hoped that after plantation of 10 billion trees, the weather pattern of the country would be changed altogether.

The prime minister said the cleanliness drive would not remain confined to posh areas but it would also cover the slums and reiterated his government’s plan to regularize and provide housing to the slum dwellers.

The drive also comprises the construction of landfill sites in all areas to ensure proper disposal of the garbage.

The prime minister also interacted with the representatives of international organizations and shared with them the government’s future plans to cope with climate change and global warming.

Adviser Malik Amin Aslam said the government would change the public mindset and behaviour to make the initiative a success.

He said the drive would be funded by both the government as well as the donors. Regarding waste disposal, the adviser said the government was mulling over various models in this regard and would finalize anyone soon.

He said the waste-to-energy projects were also under considerations and the government would execute the same through public-private partnership as discussion was already going on with German ambassador on the subject.

Separately, Imran said an effective local government system would be introduced in Balochistan to resolve problems of people at grass-roots level.

Talking to students of various educational institutions of Balochistan at Prime Minister Office in Islamabad, he said Balochistan was a spread out area and it was very difficult to handle it from a centralised system.

The government is going to start one of the biggest job provision programmes in the history of Pakistan by constructing five million houses in the entire country, he said, adding that the government with the cooperation of the Pakistan Army would construct a cancer hospital in Balochistan.

Imran Khan said the federal government is also work ing on various water projects in the province and Mangi Dam would be upgraded to meet water requirement of Quetta and adjoining areas.

The prime minister said Balochistan was rich in mineral resources and only four minerals in the province were considered to be worth $460 billion. He said the government would take up projects to utilise the resources.

Published in Daily Times, October 14^th 2018.