RAWALPINDI – Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday saidthat everybody should attach high priority to planting saplings all acrossthe country.
On part of Pakistan Army, he said 10 million saplings during currentmonsoon would be planted across the country in coordination with civilianorganisations at national and provincial levels like enviornment agencies,forest departments and agriculture departments.
He was addressing participants at the inauguration of nationwide treeplantation campaign – Sarsabz-o-Shadab Pakistan (Green and Fresh Pakistan)- at Race Course Park.
He said they had gathered for a national cause as the country was in direneed of having more and more trees to avoid looming dangers ofdeforestation.
On the occasion, wife of the Army chief, Mrs Qamar Javed Bajwa, as chiefpatron of the nation-wide tree plantation campaign, said that all thePakistanis should come forward and play their role to ably take up thechallenge of deforestation.
Referring to the alarming stage of deforestation in the country, she saidit was time for people to follow the “now or never” approach. Pointing outinternational data on deforestation, she said Pakistan was among the seventop countries.
“Sincere efforts are the need of the hour,” she said adding, “We want togive our next generations a greener Pakistan and we will leave no stoneunturned to achieve the set goals in this direction.”
“We should arrange for planting a sapling at birthdays of every child andthe plantation should be done personally by the parents or by the childhimself.”
Earlier, a senior officer of 10 Corps gave detailed briefing on theplantation campaign stating that the patches where forestation could beundertaken at mass level would be identified through satellite images. Heapprised that they had already started work in the cantonment and garrisonareas of the country.
During the current season, he said that 10 million saplings would beplanted during the current monsoon and the plantation figures would enhancegradually with the passage of time. Besides the manual plantation, seeds ofvarious species would be sprayed with the helicopters in the ruggedterrain, or not reachable areas.
He said that a comprehensive research work had already been carried out toidentify the plant species according to the earth specifications andenvironment of each area in different tropical regions so that specificsaplings could be planted in the specific areas best suited to theirvegetation, germination and environment.
He apprised that on the day of inauguration, on Monday, two millionsaplings had been planted.
Earlier, the COAS and Mrs Qamar Javed Bajwa along with a large number ofofficers and their families besides school children planted saplings in thepark.
The journalists, media persons and anchors, who were invited, also plantedsaplings to become part of the national campaign. – APP