Citizens come out against unabated felling of trees in Karachi

KARACHI: Dozens of citizens staged a protest at the Teen Talwar roundabout in Clifton on Sunday against the rampant cutting of trees in Karachi.

They demanded that the authorities should stop cutting more trees and instead plant more to compensate for the ones that had been felled.

The demonstration was organised under the banner of “Mera Karachi Group”, which claims to be an apolitical entity, striving for the betterment of the city and protection of Karachi’s trees, which were being cut by both private construction firms as well as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation for placing billboards and signboards at pavements and footpaths.

Carrying placards and banners inscribed with “Karachi Hamara Hai”, “Save the Trees”, “Don’t Cut Trees” and similar slogans, the participants chanted slogans and demanded action against those who were cutting trees and installing billboards and signboards and constructing commercial buildings in their place.

The speakers said they were not against development but that should not take place at the cost of cutting trees. They asked the authorities to start an actual plantation drive in the city instead of cosmetic ones.

“In most cases, trees are being cut to make space for billboards. This is being done by the KMC as well as the cantonment boards,” said Zulfiqar Ramzi, one of the organisers of the protest.  He added that over 8,000 trees had been felled for the Green Line project.

“We are not against development. We demand that at least the double of what is being cut for the Green Line project be planted at alternate places and wherever possible transplant the existing trees to other locations.”

Other speakers said trees provided oxygen and cleared carbon dioxide that cars and factories produced. 

It is also a fact that the temperature under a tree is almost two to four degrees Celsius lower than in the open.

The protesters vowed to continue their campaign until the authorities take notice.

They also said they would approach more people in the city to carry out more effective protests against the cutting of trees.

—Originally published in The News