Darakhat Bachao, Lahore Bachao

Re: # 46

Dear Ahmed, Your passion for Lahore is beyond question and argument but your argument is not beyond debate. Whatever the outcome, I am positive (not that it matters) will be a good and an innovative one. I believe that public works should be vigorously debated and discussed (like I believe is the case here) and sentimental issues should take a back seat. My grandpa owned a house in Shaho di GaRee at the time of partition that is now an ice cream factory. The sad fact is that the landscape changes. I remember the days when Tongas were allowed on the Mall. But hey, I am still not as old as Teshah Sahib. Every generation has a memory of Lahore. Let the new ones make their own. If you read Lahore by Pran Neville you wouldn’t know what city he is talking about.

I am so very happy to see Passionate Lahoris such as you. Doesn’t meant that I agree with you.

Mantolives: You are too kind.

Kulharee: No, not turbo-charged (I`m far too eco-friendly). How about solar-powered?

Please read comments No:

4 & 5: Both have this notion that ``trees are renewable.`` But planting trees to replace fallen ones is silly. A sapling takes years to take root, and many more to grow. A grown tree is a living eco system. Where were the birds, animals and insects go? I need not get into the rather obvious argument about the importance of trees as a means of preserving heritage and beauty.

Which brings me to comment No:

6: The widen-the-road-but-save-the-fruitwallas. This is indicative of a lack of knowledge of how things work in our little Islamic Republic. The fruit wallahs and bus stands temporarily restrict the Canal Road, causing bottlenecks and subsequent delays. The Canal widening project hasn`t even considered making bus bays or moving the fruitwallas to designated market places. It is responsibility of the Town Nazims to prevent encroachments, and they have the power to provide innovate alternative solutions. They could designate the green belts as fruit markets. But no. Let`s not have innovate alternatives. Let`s have a Rs. 700 million road.

7: The lets-castrate-Shaukat-Aziz-and-prohibit-car-leasing (pretty well dealt with, in my opinion, by post No. 8). I`m eco friendly, not anti-free trade. If you have the money to lease a car, lease a car. Other places with higher car-to-person ratios than Pakistan haven`t banned the purchase of cars: They`ve regulated car usage with innovate traffic management ideas.

But by post 10, things begin to look up. Until post 18 (sorry Mantolives, but if you want those overpasses, you`ll have to pay for them yourself).

I was wondering where some of the old chowk hands were. The ones that kept me on my toes. None to be seen. Ergo, poor debate.

But then I took slight at your taking slight and, well, had a better look at some of the other posts.

And

19: I can conceed some merit to the argument with respect to the number of lanes actually using the underpasses. I can`t say the same for the veiled I-live-in-NYC (but am still Lahori)-where-there-are-no-trees-so-you-should-be-thankful-for the-tree-you-do-have argument. I don`t want development in Lahore to be like development in New York, Paris or London. I want Lahore to look like Lahore. With its trees.

You clearly mention (post 29) that, to you, Lahore is the people who live in it. That`s well for someone who doesn`t live in a city being murdered by town planners and elected representatives. Please spare a thought for those who think Lahore is more than the people who live in it. It`s my home. To me Lahore is also its historic buildings, roads and (yes) trees. Felling a tree is as great a loss of my Lahore as would be (khuda na karey, but for arguments sake) the loss of one of the people you identify the city with.

And for you eucalyptus haters out there: The euclyptus is not evil. It`s a tree. While it does consume water, please take a moment to think about the type of water the eucalyptus on the Canal consumes: it`s sewer water. So even if the eucalyptus soaks up water, it`s soaking up water which no-one else needs, leave alone drinks. And before you say ``But what about water for irrigation?`` let me say: 1) the Canal feeds into the Balloki canal, which itself is a large irrigation canal; and 2) the eucalyptus doesn`t ``steal`` this water that it consumes: It`s a huge reverse photosynthesizer which transforms that H20 into clean air. So whatever the eucalyptus is taking away in terms of water, it is replacing in terms of clean air.

Congratulations!! but this is just a biggining of the war,.... a war to save Pakistan from internal enemies.

We have no threat from India, as we don`t want to live with them and they cannot impose any thing on us, but we do have threat from enemies within, who are present in every assembly and every office and who will give billions of rupees `irreversible` damage to Pakistan for their personal gains of few thousand rupees.

How come ``hazar service`` working government employees and soldiers became contractors, developers etc...what is the concept of conflict of interest.

Cantt Executive officer of Abbottabad had a phoney kind of construction company in his pocket and he made an offer to the church`s president to build shops around the lush green lawns of Saint Luke`s church and he also wanted to build a play land in the lady garden through that personal phoney company.

When confronted, he blamed soldiers by saying that if they don`t get plots in DHAs, worth crores(millions) of rupees then they would never had joined Armed forces.

According to him if soldiers could grab power in Pakistan, then the same yard stick allowed him to ``develop`` parks of cantonments like Abbottabad through his personal phoney construction company.

It was shocking to know that the company which has been trying to grab and ``develop`` doongi grounds of Lahore is operated by a ``hazar service`` serving deputy secretary of the Punjab government.

This is what daily Dawn reported on July 05, 2006.

Our Correspondent

LAHORE, July 4: A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday allowed PPP leader Syed Iqbal Haider and journalists Ardshir Cowasjee and Ayaz Amir to be impleaded as party to a writ petition challenging the Punjab government’s project of building a high-rise shopping arcade and a modern cinema complex at Doongi ground on the M. M. Alam Road, Gulberg II, by a public sector undertaking, the Punjab Entertainment Company.

The Punjab government has submitted its parawise comment in the hearing of two intra-court appeals and as many writ petitions which will now be taken up on Thursday along with an objection petition which the full bench allowed to be filed on the plea of the petitioner’s counsel Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Mohammad Azhar.

Also the secretary-general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and a practicing lawyer, Syed Iqbal Haider, and the two senior columnists moved the LHC with the plea that they be allowed to be added to the list of the petitioners in the writ petition filed by a Karachi-based NGO,— Shehri-CBE (Citizens for Better Environment) -– and certain residents of Gulberg.

Comprising Justice Syed Sakhi Husain Bokhari, Justice Mohammad Bilal Khan and Justice Fazale Miran Chauhan, the bench is seized with two intra-court appeals, submitted by the Punjab government and the Punjab Entertainment Company, and as many writ petitions which challenged the vires of establishing a commercial venture in the public sector and the transparency in transferring land and public money to the company.

The court granted the petitioner counsel’s request of hearing his pleas that Justice Mohammad Sayeed Akhtar, who granted stay against the project, should have been included on the bench and one of its members, who vacated the stay after expressing a certain opinion in the case, should not have been part of the bench. Syed Mansoor Ali Shah submitted that the petitioners moved the pleas but were returned by the registrar office declaring them non-maintainable. He submitted that it was the court and not the registrar to decide if a petition was maintainable or not.

The LHC full bench also deferred till the next date of hearing an application of the Punjab Entertainment Company that it be allowed to complete the construction of the structure because they feared an irreparable loss in the rainy season.

The secretary of the company, who is also a deputy secretary in the information, sports and youth division, had stated earlier in the case that the cost of the cinema complex alone was around Rs230 million.

He stated that the company had, under a contract, agreed to pay about $3 million to the Canadian firm for installing its IMAX Theatre and also for transferring technology. The contract amount, according to the secretary, was to be paid in four installments of $756,260 each every three months.

On a court question, the secretary submitted that the site plan of the project was yet to be approved by the LDA. The company, he submitted, was yet to acquire the services of an architect to develop a site plan.

He also stated in reply to another court question that the company had also not invited tenders to carry out work on the project. He submitted that the construction of the shopping arcade was the responsibility of the Punjab PWD which was thinking in terms of floating bids. To another question, he submitted that the price of the ticket for the IMAX theatre was to be very high because a similar theatre in Karachi was charging about Rs500.

The petitions called into question the transfer of the land of Doongi ground from the LDA to the PHA and then to the Punjab Entertainment Company submitting that the whole process was flawed and was done in flagrant violation of the law. The transfer was ordered by the chief minister, who was not legally competent to issue such orders.

The petition also challenged the legality of the Punjab Entertainment Company, saying it was a public sector company set up for commercial purposes which the 1973 Constitution did not envisage. It submitted that the Constitution provided that the federal and provincial governments could launch public welfare projects and could not enter in the commercial or trading ventures for profit as a public sector undertaking. He submitted that billions of rupees of the public exchequer were involved in the project and the company had already spent millions only on digging the ground. The money was officially released to the company in violation of the law, the petition added.

Re: # 43

Manto yaar, that’s all fine. Congratulations to Rafay-Alam Sahib for being the super duper turbo charged legal eagle of Lahore. That is a good thing. I only took a little slight to his holier than thou manner when he referred to this debate as “poor” quality. May be I misunderstood what he meant to say. I am sorry for that. So you must be very happy with the outcome, now you can hug all the trees you want.

e-mail me your contact # at Kulhareeatyahoo... I will be in Lahore only for 4 or 5 days, but I hope to squeeze a cup of coffee with you at some place.

Rafay...

It seems like government has accepted your point of view...

Congratulations on a well deserved victory.


Kulharee pai,

Rafay is one of the most educated and effective lawyers in Lahore... I can tell you, he is not the sort to back away from an effective debate.

Worst part of Pakistanis and Indians is that they discourage each other due to their own insecurities and low self esteems.

Pakistan full of trees, public parks, green belts fell in the laps of those who never planted any tree with their own hands and who don`t know how to make a sapling survive or grow succesfully in busy urban settings.

The question is not about if we need to cut euclaptus trees and to replace them with some other species, real issue is to stop selfish commission/bribe ``developers`` mafia from encroaching upon a green belt of the heart of Pakistan known as Lahore.

Hell with the cars and ugly faces of SELFISH developers in the sizzling months of june and july, and when population of Lahore will become double in next few decades then we will expand roads further and eventually no green belt will be left at all in Pakistan.

Re: # 40

Worst part of Pakistanis and Indians is that they discourage each other due to their own insecurities and low self esteems.

Pakistan full of trees, public parks, green belts fell in the laps of those who never planted any tree with their own hands and who don`t know how to make a sapling survive or grow succesfully in busy urban settings.

The question is not about if we need to cut euclaptus trees and to replace them with some other species, real issue is to stop selfish commission/bribe ``developers`` mafia from encroaching upon a green belt of the heart of Pakistan known as Lahore.

Hell with the cars and ugly faces of SELFISH developers in the sizzling months of june and july, and when population of Lahore will become double in next few decades then we will expand roads further and eventually no green belt will be left at all in Pakistan.

Re: # 39

Alam Sahib, if people don’t tend to agree with your ideas, doesn’t make the debate poor.

You changed your thesis at least 57 times in this article. First it was about the environment, then the underground water levels, then about the trees, then not about the trees, then about the property interests, then about Lahore, then about trees sucking too much or too little water, then about everyone sucks but me, then this and then that (and the co2 level). First go and take a dip in the canal, make your mind up once for all and come back for a debate that is not of “poor” quality.

The problem is that people make their minds up about something, and then go around looking for justifications, that’s exactly what you have done with this rotten essay of yours. The you come back and have the guts to say that the debate is of poor quality. Talk about Arrogance. I can almost think of what to do with the chopped tree trunks.

Usually, I don`t comment on the interaction board. But after over a year`s absence from Chowk, I`m surprised at the very poor quality of debate.

IT`S NOT ABOUT THE TREES!!! IT`S ABOUT LAHORE.

If people reach the stage where they feel no problem in cutting down trees in the name of development, it is death for urban planning.

If you widen the Canal Road to cater to an expanding Lahore, you`re just putting residential traffic on the Industrial Raiwind Road (I need not argue about catering for the Motorway, as they are alternate routes).

I can`t believe some people can actually complain about the traffic on the Canal when there are roads in North Lahore which are clogged for hours on end. And instead of dealing with the high denisity commericial and industrial traffic which causes jams in North Lahore (by moving industry out of the city), people just want to be able to get to the Royal Palm five minutes quicker.

The only reason why the Canal Road will not be widened in the middle term is because three questions into why the road is widened where it is leads to the irresistable conclusion that property interests in South West Lahore are bent on getting customers to their housing schemes some 10 minutes earlier. And it`ll be scandal to reveal those names.

The very idea of widening the Canal is rooted in sleaze and corruption. And we must all be on guard against falling for temporary pleasures (like getting to dinner 10 minutes earlier) when the cost of our conveniance is bad governance.

Rafay Alam

Rozaiba and Kulharee...

I drive in rush hour traffic 8:30 to 9:30 -from Model Town to High Court- and I made a point to note down the times I`ve been stuck... Over the past one week... I`ve been stuck in a traffic thrice for 3 minutes at most.

I am sorry - I just can`t justify a spending of 700 million on something like this. Ring Road, better public transport system, and flyovers (not all of them will end up cutting trees) is what we want. Already the Canal Road is a 3 lane High Way... I don`t get it frankly.

Dear Ahmed Rafay Alam and other nature lovers

I believe that you people have started the most important war, and that is the war to save Pakistan from internal termites and so called care takers.
You must continue this struggle and noble mission and please call it as `` darkht Bachao, Pakistan Bachao`` tehreek or movement.

From Chitral, Gilgit to Karachi every tree, every free lying green space and park is under attack by these vultures.
Places like Gilgit, Chitral Abbottabad are easy loots, as there are no groups or powerful resistors like we have in Lahore and Karachi.

Please try to recognise true hands behind such projects, who are the main players behind the acenes.

Most of our ministers or rulers can`t even write a correct sentence or paragraph in English, can they read or understand complex government rules or regulations..?? no way ..then who are the main players behind the scenes??

Main players are corrupt government Engineers and secretaries who are desperate and dying for their upto 50 percent of commission or bribe from such projects.
They are the one who prepare projects, reports and budgets and our weak politicians put their thumb impressions on such reports in order to save their faces.

It is true that some of the members of assemblies and their family members are government contractors, but corrupt government officers of C&W , TMA , TEPA ,MES, PEPA etc. etc. are the main players of this great scheme of organised and ``legal`` lootings and tree butcherings all over the Pakistan.

These experts of government, take advantage of the political instability and uncertainty of the country and they work like a mafia, who is expert in consuming and digesting budget of billions before next june the 30th.

We do have honest Engineers and bureaucrats as well and they must work together to expose and fight against internal traitors and enemies of Pakistan.
We couldn`t even imagine that any tree on the canal road of Lahore or the mall roads of Rawalpindi or Lahore will even be touched by some evil spirit.

When there are two lane underpasses on the canal road then three or four lanes will for sure create more blockage and chaos but expert looters would have left the scene by then, after pocketing their commissions and bribes.

Despite traffic problems, no where in the world we have noticed government Engineers to encroach upon green belts and destroy trees and habitats of poor humans and birds etc.
I request all readers to read following articles about the slow death of the most beautiful hill station of the subcontinent , which is known as Abbottabad and extend help to places like Chitral, Gilgit and Abbottabad as well.

Emergency help needed for Vanishing Architectural Heritage and greenery of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Situated at the foothills of Himalayas world famous hill station Abbottabad is 110 KMs north of Islamabad and Located at the height of 4100 feet above sea level.

Abbottabad came into being in 1853 AD, as a summer resort and training camp for the Northern command of Army.

It was named after the founder and the first deputy commissioner, Major James Abbott.
Abbottabad is nestled in lush green rolling hills and amidst scorching heat of plains, it offered crisp and cool mountain air along with the views of thickly forested mountains. and snow clad peaks of Northern Pakistan.

Unique combination of average 250 sunny days a year, 4100 feet altitude, latitude, proper rainfall and extremely fertile soil conditions made it possible to grow trees and shrubs of European and Himalayan origin and some species of trees and flowers were brought from Kashmir also.

During British rule, highly trained and competent people developed gardens and green belts of Abbottabad and local craftsmen built this town and touched heights of architectural refinement and skillfulness.

Beautifully grained local stone was used aesthetically in the construction of environmentally friendly buildings and hammer dressed stones were used even in the roadside drains.

Abbottabad had avenues and groves, which contained magnificent trees of Horse chestnuts, Himalayan and Lebanese cedars, Pines, Chinars (maple), Fragrant Camphor, Elm, Ash, Mahogany, Walnut and various other species of trees and shrubs of Alpine nature.

Breath taking scenery, fragrant breeze,beautifully blended stone buildings, majestic trees, shrubs and flowers from all over the world gave birth to a glory which became famous all over the world by the name of Abbottabad.

In the past,cantonment administration and Pakistan Army managed to conserve green areas, but now grabbing of green belts and public places, unplanned expansions and haphazard concrete constructions have seriously damaged the heritage of this unmatchable town.

Most of the mature trees and shrubs disappeared permanently and various species of wild birds are becoming homeless as green belts and trees of Abbottabad are disappearing very fast.
There is a lack of commitment at the national level and environmental and heritage preservation laws are not being up-dated or implemented properly.
Moreover cantonment and municipal by-laws are either ignored or violated and constructions are being allowed even on the pine-covered hills, green belts and natural drainage areas.
Year of 1976 AD was the last time when cantonment and municipal bye-laws were published,up-dated or made available for the general public.
As it is visible in the attached 2005 overview of Abbottabad that urban sprawl has reached beyond the capacity of this small town and very few old mature trees and green belts are left in the town.
If present conditions prevail, then in coming years, uncontrolled flood of buildings will eat away remaining trees of the town and surrounding hills.
Unfortunately during the last decade, in collusion with the government officials,unskilled and especially corrupt contractors have ransacked heritage buildings, gardens and green belts of Abbottabad.
Three quarters of the legally demarcated company bagh or municipal garden has been grabbed and ``developed`` with sub standard concrete and plans are being made to develop remaining portions also.
Centuries old lay out and land scape of lady garden ( cantonment park) and surrounding areas have been destroyed, and sub standard cemented walls have replaced ever green hedges, pavilions demolished, stone masonry and antique iron gates with climbing roses disappeared...

Heavy constructions and pouring of concrete around mature exotic trees have put them under great stress and die back process of the leftovers of centuries old trees has already been started.

In Abbottabad we are also losing our environmentally friendly antique buildings at an alarming rate.
We are afraid that if we fail to take immediate action, then we are going to lose remaining traces of the antiquity and originality of the town.
Due to un-planned slums and destruction of old trees, once very green and clean Abbottabad is now at the verge of environmental catastrophe.
Fresh water and fish filled neighboring streams of Abbottabad are now filled with human waste and plastic shopping bags.

Government departments are working in a way that there is no concept of preserving old trees and heritage buildings.
These departments get huge developmental money, and in order to spend that money, some old historical buildings have to be demolished every year.

During reconstruction process, unskilled contractors build sub standard ugly buildings and chop down mature old trees ruthlessly; they also fail to plant new trees.
Masterpieces of stone masonry and solidly built historical and architectural heritage have been lost along with massive trees of fragrant camphor,Lebanese Cedars, pines, Chestnuts, Oaks, Mahogany and maples etc.

It has been observed that some long term contractors cum developers have their eyes on every free lying open green space of Abbottabad, and they have plans to grab and build commercial buildings over there.
Such ``developers`` are involved in lobbying and bribing government officers as well.

There are so many ``developmental`` plans in the pipe line, which will forever seal the fate of this small and fragile town, few cases are highlighted here, for the attention of our esteemed readers.

1- ``Mohafiz khana`` or land record room contained centuries of hard work, hand written records, books, government maps, antiques and last year, it got burnt to ashes under mysterious circumstances??

The News international reported the incident, here is the link.

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2005-daily/07-06-2005/metro/p3.htm

Abbottabad was beautiful, because of such stone buildings with sloping roofs, mountain architecture and majestic local and exotic trees, which were planted in an organized manner.

2- 4000 kanals of Shimla mountain top along with its pine forest belong to the federal government and despite supreme court rulings, it has recently been leased off by TMA Abbottabad for commercial purposes.(shimla hill is visible in 1982 overview of Abbottabad)

The News international reported about it in national news section of September 09, 2005, here is the link:

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2005-daily/29-09-2005/national/n7.htm

3- For the last fifteen years, ``developers`` have been dumping building waste in the lush green natural drainage areas along the pine view road. These Cantonment contractors are now planning to build a commercial plazas in these newly filled natural drainage areas. It may please be noted that according to Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1997, dumping of waste and construction in natural drainage areas is illegal.

4- Some people have deliberately damaged roots of centuries old fragrant camphor and pine trees, which were present in the cantonment especially in the area adjacent to Abbottabad club annexe. There is a plan of construction of a commercial plaza in this green area, which will result in the destruction of mature trees. Arrival of the mobs of customers and their vehicles will further damage and reduce remaining greenery and trees of the neighborhood.

5- The developer who got lease of the former Mona Lisa restaurant has converted it into a shopping center. After bull dozing and ruining the green area he is now expanding his commercial project and paving the green area in collusion with government officials??

6- There was a little children park adjacent to DIG, police office and across the Army Medical corps mess. Park contains mature mahogany, horse chestnut and pine trees. That park and some portion of the neighboring drainage area has recently been sold off by an influential person to an influential person??


7- Commercial project is also going to be constructed at the annexe of a historic residence of Omar Asghar Khan on Pine view road. Omar`s wife is against the demolition of Omar`s memories and chopping down of mature camphor trees but Air Marshall and Omar`s brother are pursuing the project.

Completion of this project will open doors for the flood of similar commercial projects in the neighboring residences of the cantonment.

It may please be noted that construction of commercial plazas in the residences of Abbottabad cantonment was banned by the government of Pakistan, Ministry of defence, vide letter no. 72/90/Lands/ML&C/88-G dated 24.5.1989

Please note that in Pakistan,fragrant camphor trees and Lebanese cedars are only found in the landscapes of historic government bungalows, parks and buildings of Abbottabad


8- Several centuries old mature trees fell recently in the former Palace hotel as district government offices are being expanded in the lawns of this historic building. Government contractor brought a huge machine and he not only removed those trees in one day and dug the whole area, but he injured neighboring trees as well.


9- Construction of Rescue 15 police station has been proposed inside the lower half of the Lady Garden. Rescue 15 can easily be placed at the cantonment fire station and workshop, which exists next to the proposed site and it has huge under utilized area, built infrastructure and six (6) large garages, which are presently filled with scrap.


10- Victoria Memorial High school (now Government High School No.1) was built in 1860 AD, various prominent personalities of Pakistan resided in the hostel and got education from the school. Luckily school is still standing in its original shape along with 150 years old records and trophies.Instead of renovation, a portion of this school is going to be demolished in near future. An architectural asset, magnificent old trees and centuries old masonry work will be gone with the old school

11- Historic Bungalows of Abbottabad were built in 19th century, and in the absence of any legal protection, they are going to be demolished as soon as the new funding will be made available by the government.

For example residence of civil surgeon located in the civil lines is going to be demolished immediately and a wonderful example of stone masonry , solidly built master piece of symmetry,harmony and history along with exotic trees are going to be lost forever.

12- Saint Luke`s church is the oldest Gothic building of Abbottabad. It’s centuries old landscape has recently been destroyed and the old lawns have been bull dozed.


13- ``Ilayasi Mosque`` is built on the water springs and marble was used in its construction.It is a landmark heritage of Abbottabad. Mosque committee made some major changes few years back, in which old fountain and centuries old Chinar (maple) trees had to go. Some people were using dynamite also in the area, which could have stopped natural flow of the spring water.Now the committee is again planning to expand the ‘madrassa`` of the mosque and along with the history, some more mature trees will have to go.


14- In order to generate local power, Power House of Abbottabad was built in 19th century. A portion of that Power House is still standing, which contains stone building, historical switchgear and transformers. Electrical construction authorities are now planning to get rid of this heritage. ?? Can we save it for the study of our Civil and Electrical Engineering students? ??

15- Various mature pine and chinar trees have recently been chopped down in the telephone exchange, which is located along the Pine View road. Pine view road hardly carries any pine tree now and various horse chestnut, mahogany and ash trees are dying there, due to the poison created by the dumped building waste ??

16- More over GTS bus stand workshop which was a part of legally demarcated company bagh and originally belonged to women`s community centre has recently been leased out by TMA for commercial plaza.

17- ``Developers`` and greedy influentials are buying cheap land and building and selling slums at the surrounding historic Sarban and Shimla mountains of Abbottabad.They are doing it with out any planning or regard for regulations. Bio-diversity including trees, shrubs and birds (like golden eagle, shikras and magpies) of these mountains are being destroyed.Authorities are requested to declare leftovers of green spots of the city and cantonment along with Shimla and Sarban mountains as PROTECTED AREAS.

It is requested that under Federal and Provincial Antiquities Acts, legal protection to be given to the remaining cultural, natural and architectural heritage of Abbottabad.
Leftovers of mature trees, green belts and pine-covered hills of Abbottabad also need to be mapped and given protection under various sections of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997.

We need establishment of national registry for heritage buildings, green belts,parks and historic trees of Pakistan on emergency basis.

Treatment of a fragile hill station at our hands


During looting and destruction of Abbottabad by government authorities, 150 years old chinar and pine trees were chopped down and later on remaining trees also died due to damage caused to their roots.

If we look at the present day historic lady garden then one can notice Lebanese cedars on both sides and we should keep this in our mind that Lebanese cedars of Abbottabad can be presented as the healthiest and the most beautiful examples of this tree which is mentioned in religious books and which is about to be declared as endangered by UNESCO.

Unfortunately we lost some of our mature Lebanese cedars, Himalayan pines and Kashmiri chinars due to abuse, soil compaction and damage to roots etc. and remaining trees are also showing signs of die back and ill health.

Forest officers of Abbottabad have no passion or time for such things and gardeners cum contractors of cantt board and municipal committee, unfortunately even don,t know that they are mature world class Lebanese cedars.

We are trying to learn the ( mulching and manuring ) techniques which were used to heal and preserve the Lebanese cedars of some of the stately areas of the UK.

Hazara is a grazing ground and like an orphan and we are losing our heritage buildings and trees at very fast pace and citizens are not encouraged to come forward and claim their heritage.

In certain countries, such 19th centuries antique structures of stone masonry are considered priceless, as they help to keep the antiquity intact and promote tourism, but we destroy them, just for the sake of personal gains, bribes and kick backs.

In the same neigbourhood, historic bungalow of session judge was demolished, which was built with chiseled stones and pure deodar and teak wood was used in it.

A new master piece of Peshawar high court bench was pushed in that green area and the building got declared dangerous right after the completion and during the recent earth quake it crumbled further.

Will our government ever tell the tax payers about any necessary actions, if they were taken in this regard??

More over pine covered Sarban mountain is also visible in the photograph of court house.

This is the same mountain and the same pine trees about whom Allama Iqbal wrote his famous poem ``abr`` (bang e dara) during his visit of Abbottabad in 1904.

Pine trees of Sarban and Shimla mountains are getting destroyed as ``influential`` people have purchased cheap land up there and they are developing those areas for housing projects.

Contractors and MPAs of ruling parties are busy in lobbying and they want to ``develop`` that pristine and so far preserved area.

Same ``developers`` mafia wanted the gravity flow water supply scheme for greater Abbottabad and this recently approved project will seal the fate of the greenery and destroy the eco-system and habitats of ``shikras``, falcons, magpies and golden eagles for ever.

Existing water reservoirs of Abbottabad are surrounded by slums built at the lands of influential people and human waste and garbage is seriously contaminating water reservoirs and making people sick.

Moreover,newer reservoirs for gravity flow scheme for Abbottabad have been built further up at the Sarban and Shimla mountains and after availability of water at greater heights,slums with no infrastructure, sewerage system or planning will be moving up as government has no understanding of keeping such areas as protected and clean.

Please note that 60 percent of patients come to government hospitals due to gastro intestinal troubles.

Our government is talking about installation of expensive water filtration plants, they must keep this in their minds that our so called government engineers are only good at making financial deals with contractors and they have no hands on experience to operate or to maintain such plants.

Filtration plants which were installed in near past are not functional as there are no replacement filters, electric supply or enough water pressure.

Most of the developed countries simply keep reservoirs and catchment areas free from human constructions and such areas are kept green and clean.

Instead of fancy filtration plants, micro biologists or bio chemists monitor water and small doses of chlorine are added,as per requirements.

Most of the surrounding mountains of Abbottabad are ``jagirs`` or privately owned and in order to stop this catastrophe and destruction of eco system, government has to acquire them and to declare them as protected areas.

4000 kanals of Shimla mountain park along with its pine forest belong to the federal government and despite supreme court rulings, it has recently been leased out by TMA Abbottabad for commercial purposes.

The News international reported about it in national news section of September 09, 2005, here is the link:

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2005-daily/29-09-2005/national/n7.htm

More over GTS bus stand workshop which was a part of legally demarcated company bagh and originally belonged to women`s community centre has recently been leased out by TMA for commercial plaza.

Children park which existed in a green belt next to DIG hazara police office has reportedly been sold off.

Next to DIG police office is the historic pine view road and local contractors have filled up the natural drainage area along the pine view road with the building waste and government authorities are now planning to build a massive commercial plaza in that green and prohibited for construction area.

Petrol pumps have been built in the cantonment public park and various other commercial projects and plazas in the neighbouring green belts have also got approved by serving and retired government and Army officials.

Government has failed to protect parks and green areas or to divert population pressure towards properly planned housing schemes.

Government has also failed to provide any national heritage board or registry, where such cultural, natural and architectural heritage could have been recorded.

In the absence of any central qualified authority, unskilled contractors in collusion with corrupt government officials have ruined the historic landscapes of lady garden, company bagh and surrounding government properties.

Do these custodians of public assets and government officials really love, respect and protect Pakistan??

Re: # 32

LOL! Marriage is the most lucrative business in Pakistan and sadly for some people, their main outlet for entertainment...

Roz.

I am all for public transport - mass transit.

Thanks for article. The points raised are right no doubt.
Problem is not cutting trees, those Eucaliptus trees need to be removed as they most damaging to land, watertable and surrounding trees.
It is not water cutting but breeding of specially poor people is problem. Land can support 10 times the trees but the population is so high the all area along Indus may start sinking down, just so much overcrowding of people. B.Stan is more than 42% area is all land without water. Quetta will soon die in near future due to lack of sufficient water, fortunately we are told big Gport is going to get lots of desalinated water. Now god dam there is nothing beyond no water nothing and they want to make knew Karachi there. It is all stupidity crowned by Absurdity. Sindh is desert go beyond river indus few miles there is nothing. Any every year they are more and more cranking our more and more babies. Instead of cutting trees to help traffic reduce traffic by reducing production of people. Now all these idiots to not have to stop martial bliss. This family planning things are nearly as important discoveries as fire as you can control spread of people like weeds and still have entertainment. But masses are asses and theie asses need to be whipped. so they do not go on producing dark carbon copies of themselves. Now poor people demand always demard mercy and want handouts they aey are most cruel to their children by breeding like rats. You read story of poor people here he is dead and then he is poor and has 6 chidren and many times from one wife. This poor mentality has lead to people (poor) who can not support as many babies out of his poor wife till she is daed and exhausted by so many child births. This child birth of poor people is not day to celebrate but to mourn one more mouth to feed. I have no problem with dictorship is our birth right but we want like Sultan , Badshah who does not care but just want to do good. We will have no democracy as this land is full of idiots and is not fertile to produce democracy but can only sustain dictectorship like weed survives in bad lands and not mango tree. So we need benovelent dic. who will tell people to do right things or will whip. I like story of Ranjitsingh. One useless Fakir went to his court and told him that allah has come in his dream and wants he be given 100 rupees. Ranjit told him allah has told him to give him 50 lashes of whipping and he did that and allah`s wishes were carried out. I will support any despot only he makes people to control breeding and give place for breathing.
If you want to get to problem then you have to go to source of problem and you have to go against current. Musharaff will be great if he can control fertility or we can go on building roads and there will be always over crowding.
Good night.

Rafay Sb,

Thanks for the generally well-argued article.

There are a few weak points:

a) the comment about the laid-back Lahoris not worrying about wasting an extra 7 minutes in traffic. What kind of an illogical loose ball was that?!

b) not addressing the root causes, as mentioned in several comments - the huge increase in cars on the road (caused by the lack of adequate public transport, much as it has improved since the late nineties and by the massive car leasing business of the last three years) and too great a difference in terms of economic opportunities between Lahore and its ``hinterland``

c) eucalyptus trees are actually no longer unanimously recommended for reforestation projects as their roots tend to dig very deep and suck out so much water that the water table is seriously affected. The fact that the roots go deep is good for areas where the top soil has been badly eroded by the combination of deforestation and rain, but there is a price to pay. At least that has been the experience in the Khyber Agency where the Forestry Department has stopped planting new eucalyptus after observing the effects of their reforestation projects for several years. Whether or not the advertisement you mention is linked to the canal-widening project is only your conjecture.

So, pros:
saves time
saves fuel consumption as cars idle in traffic jams or run at lower than their peak efficiency speed. But how much?
perhaps reduces emissions as cars transit faster along the canal with fewer gear shifts. But this is on a per car basis. If the total number of cars increases, this effect is nullified. If the total number of cars increases again to the point of congestion, then net emissions increase significantly.

Also, what do we do when the congestion point is reached again? Buy up houses along the canal, bulldoze them and build more lanes?

Cons:
poses serious potential threats to ground stability - though I`m not sure how valid this point is, as long as the lining of the canal is maintained. I imagine that only civil engineers could answer that question.
will raise the water table - to what point? under which scenarios? at what point do water-logging and salinity set in? How much of the land on either side of the widened road would be affected?
will remove the sound barrier that residential colonies along the canal benefit from, and which they might have to find substitutes for in the future - for example, the ugly steel and concrete walls installed in peri-urban areas in Europe to protect residents from the noise of motorways and by-passes
will reduce the oxygen-generating capacity of Lahore significantly. How significantly? What will be the effect on public health in terms of lung diseases (and other maladies I don`t know about)? There should definitely be a public health professional on that committe of experts.
promotes the use of automobiles at a time when fuel prices are increasing
as a corollary, is a disincentive to the use of public transport, especially as the money being spent on this project could be used to fund (or add to the funds for) an urban rail or tram network
promotes leasing as consumers pledge away their future earnings for convenience and competitive advantage in the present, which may or may not translate to increased earnings in the future


At a time when so-called post-industrial urban centres are shifting to bicycles for commuting purposes, we are stuck about twenty years in the past, facilitating expensive, individual transport with all that it implies in environmental and cultural terms.

For some reading on the possible effects of the car on society:
``But this is not, or not really, an article about speed, or cameras, or even cars. It is about the rise of the antisocial bastards who believe they should be allowed to do what they want, whenever they want, regardless of the consequences. I believe that while there are many reasons for the growth of individualism in the UK, the extreme libertarianism now beginning to take hold here begins on the road. When you drive, society becomes an obstacle. Pedestrians, bicycles, traffic calming, speed limits, the law: all become a nuisance to be wished away. The more you drive, the more bloody-minded and individualistic you become. The car is slowly turning us, like the Americans and the Australians, into a nation that recognises only the freedom to act, and not the freedom from the consequences of other people`s actions. We drive on the left in Britain, but we are being driven to the right.
`` -- George Monbiot in The Guardian

Here is a win win solution for Lahore`s problems:

Have the Tally Ban/Al Kayda rascals relocate from Wana Wana to Lahore.
Inform the Americans (and coalition forces, just to be polite) about the move.
Leak the news that UBL and Al-Zawahari are hiding out on Canal Road.
Allow the USAF to fly over Paki territory (as if it really matters).
Redeploy thousands of Marines from Tora Bora, Bora Bora, and Tora, Tora, Tora to Lahore.

Watch the fun begin:

Canal Road will be widened.
Some trees are bound to survive.
Hira Mandi will be revitalized.
Lahore`s economy will overtake Mumbai and Bangalore combined.
The dollar will drop to about Rs. 35/-
UAL, Delta Airlines, and US Air will begin daily service to Lahore.
Dubya will visit Lahore unannounced every other day and on Thanskgiving Day.
Condoleeza Rice will demand that Mushy install democracy in Lahore.
Veeresh will be posing to CNN`s Dr. Sanjay Gupta as the ``mayor`` of Lahore.
There will be not one, but a chain of Dunkin Donuts, TGIFs, and a host of other friendly places, not to mention GI English, bars along the Ravi, and televised NFL, NBA, and NHL games.

Re: # 27

Rozaiba Ji, I am as sentimental about Lahore, even though I don’t live there no more, as anyone who lives there. Anything I say about Lahore is purely out of love, and may not necessity even be practical. One thing I am certain about is that Lahore will always be Lahore, because it is not the widened boulevards and measly streets that make Lahore what it is. It is the people. Like you and Manto and Feroz Sahib.

If you are looking for any sympathy for being stuck under the Jail Road underpass for a whole 5 (Five) (Panch) (Panj) (Panjam) (Sento) (Khamsa) (Schmakshi)... I live in NYC and it takes me 2 hours to park my friggin car, and that too on the weekends with no alternate side rules.

Re: # 18

i think the canal or atleast the part of the canal on which most traffic flows on measures about 6-8 kilometers....all of which is high traffic, imagine how much thatll cost...not to mention complaints about privacy and we may still have to cut a lot of trees, cause many of our beloved trees are currently hanging 20-25 feet over the existing canal road

tunnels...we already have 7 and they are much more costlier than widening roads.

Kulharee:

Widening the underpasses is critical. Particularly for the Jail Road underpass - the first one. It`s only freakin two laned! During the evening rush hour, you are always stuck there for at least 5 minutes.

Though five minutes doesn`t sound like much, it`s clearly a bottleneck and will only get worse.

And yes, the town planners have made fools of themselves by having no consistent pattern on which side the underpass should be made (two of the underpasses are in the slow lane).

Manto: For flyovers, you`d still need to cut down a good number of trees - as they have done for the flyover through Thokar toward the Motorway by-pass as well as for the construction of the dual carriageway on the portion of the Canal between Thokar and Bahria town.

Public transport.

Re: # 15

widening 7 underpassess...highly costly and im not talking a few million dollars

#24 other day I was looking at the map of Lahore(City and District map) and comparing with the Google earth view...I knew Lahore has grown very big but this was beyond what I thought...whole district seems to be becoming the city...e.g. planned Nishtar Town goes only few miles away from the border...and what is this Wagha Town?
Is the long term plan to convert the whole district into the City?

In the words of Patras Bokhari `Punjab will one day be the capital of Lahore`. The issue here is the mushrooming population of the city. Widening these roads is the equivalent of treating a gaping wound with blister plaster. The amount of money required to do this to all the major roads in Lahore would be much better spent on improving inter-city transportation between other cities in Punjab and Lahore. Lahore simply can`t sustain this level of growth. We also need to help other cities improve their infrastructure so that they become as attractive to people and businesses wanting to move as Lahore is.

Re: # 20

Manto yaar, it’s a deal… and make sure no decision has been made to widen any roads until we have met.

Inshalla, I will soon be in Lahore, the city that I left some 20 years ago, but the city that never left me. As they say, you can take a women out of Lahore, ……..

agreed...

Why does Lahore not have a metro system? Thats what is needed now, by the sounds of things!

Kulharee pai...

I`d rather convince you face to face over a cuppa that famous dunkin` donut coffee...

I don’t think that the number of lanes in the underpass should be a such big consideration. Because, underpass is only for the vehicles that have to continue onwards; surely there will be vehicles that will need to go on the perpendicular roads, so a 2 lane underpass for a 4 lane road is more than plenty. Secondly, every other underpasses on the Canal needs to be reconfigured. It should always be on the side of the fast lane and in Canal’s case, that is not always the case.

One thing is for sure, that whatever happens, it will be a good move. Lahorias will make the right decision.

Finally, there are cities where you have to walk 50 miles to see a tree. I work in downtown NYC on Broadway, and the nearest tree is like miles from here (not counting the Battery and the City Hall Park), similarly, Canal cities like Venus or Amsterdam don’t have 1/500th as many trees as Lahore does, and places like the Eastern Cost of Saudi Arabia has plastic trees… go figure.

How about flyovers and tunnels..

Why ``widen`` (and btw ... most Indians here would laugh at the meagre amount of traffic which is causing us to cut so many trees) when you can go over?

1- The widening of the road will lead to a saving of 7 minutes in total... the cost of the proposed project ? Rs 700 MILLION ... Is this fair? As per law, each project exceeding 50 Million Rupees needs prior public approval. - - - There MUST be public approval. I agree. However, if say 1.5 years ago it took me 15 minutes to drive from Thokar to the Mall, saving 7 minutes would be pretty good.

2- Secondly the EPA is a piece of progressive legislation which envisages direct public involvement ... it is the people`s right to opine in a matter so close to their heart. - - - - Again agree.

3- The project envisages 4 lane Highway... the underpasses are at best three lanes... and at places 2 lanes... Genuine planners will tell you that traffic is only as fast as its narrowest point. - - - -There should be four lanes for the underpasses as well. It`s common sense.

4- The trees are not just for shade... they have a very important role in sucking up the seepage water from canal and as a wall against noise pollution for adjoining residential areas. - - - - I don`t think they`ll cut the trees along the canal. It`ll be the trees on the left of the road. The canal is lined so the seepage into the greenbelt is probably not much - would need to check on this though.

5- Pollution will increase as average speeds rise from 60 KM to 80 KM meaning more exhaust, more pollution. - - - - I though pollution decreases with less traffic congestion.

6-The creation of this 4 lane Highway would mean an end to all cycle wallahs, rehraywallahs, and other poor people. The thoroughfare would be for the rich and only the rich. - - - - While they are increasing the lanes, there should be dedicated lanes for the smaller traffic. Perhaps a fifth lane!

Re: # 14
1- Point made, it needs public approval....700 million is heavy but i think its worth the time and headaches avoided. do u know the number of people who travel through the canal every day, or for that matter every hour?

2- piblic opinion is a must, thats why we`re having this discussion :)

3- 4 lane, is not the best idea, i agree. but 3 lanes with no encroachments would be worth it.

4- im sure theres better alternatives to deal with seepage waters than having trees. as for the noise levels for the people living in the canal, my message is...``ur living in the middle of the country`s second biggest city going through a development phase....what do you expect....tranquility!``

5- so dozens of cars standing on a stand still for 10 minutes because of traffic jams dont cause pollution...hmmm

6- this one i agree with, the fruit vendors and people using bicycles will need to switch onto the existing side lane.

Manto,

Yes, procedural necessities have to be taken and one should support that that happens.

While I`d prefer the widening of the road to four lanes, I think it would be highly - incredibly stupid of the goverment to not widen the underpasses as well. But then again, it`s the government...

Again, only by reducing the # of cars can you defer if not stop the cutting of trees. When consumers are encouraged to buy cars instead of using public transportation with traffic doubling every few years, the cutting down of trees is a foregone conclusion.

From my ilogs:

June 23, 2006

Tree cutting... and widening of roads...

Those who wish to cut the canal trees in the name of ``Development`` ... need to consider the following..

1- The widening of the road will lead to a saving of 7 minutes in total... the cost of the proposed project ? Rs 700 MILLION ... Is this fair? As per law, each project exceeding 50 Million Rupees needs prior public approval.

2- Secondly the EPA is a piece of progressive legislation which envisages direct public involvement ... it is the people`s right to opine in a matter so close to their heart.

3- The project envisages 4 lane Highway... the underpasses are at best three lanes... and at places 2 lanes... Genuine planners will tell you that traffic is only as fast as its narrowest point.

4- The trees are not just for shade... they have a very important role in sucking up the seepage water from canal and as a wall against noise pollution for adjoining residential areas.

5- Pollution will increase as average speeds rise from 60 KM to 80 KM meaning more exhaust, more pollution.

6-The creation of this 4 lane Highway would mean an end to all cycle wallahs, rehraywallahs, and other poor people. The thoroughfare would be for the rich and only the rich.

Canal road widening will not help traffic flow for the reasons I enumerated in one of ilogs a week or so ago.

Rafay is in a position to confirm this.

Rafay...

Well written as usual...

I would like to add to what rozaiba has already mentioned in her/his interact.

I remember going to Sacred Heart School, Thornton Road(renamed Agha Shorish Kaashmiri Rd.) and enjoying the shade of trees throughout the mall, especially while coming back from school on hot summer afternoons. In monsoon evenings one could hear birds in these huge trees lining the mall. but, not any more.

Has someone noticed that the CM has `killled` really old trees with thick wide trunks to build yet another secretarat inside GOR. what has replaced these trees and the old construction is a disasterously hideous construction called the CM secretariat. just a year or so ago, he ordered the felling of trees inside the Freemason`s building where he moved his CM secretariat.......................... how many does the man need?

Recently the Nazim decided to chop off trees in front of Gymkhana Club, just for the sake of constructing another patch of road/turning especially for Nazim House!..................he did not seem to like wasting time trying to turn the corner just a few yards away!

Remember the St. Mary`s Park a.k.a. doongi ground! during the tenure of the previous chairman LDA (now chairman CDA) someone was contracted to fill up the ground to ensure no water accumelated in it. When the venue of the IMAX Theatre was changed from the empty plot on ferozpur road to this ground, some party again got the `theka` to dig up the plot. all at the tax-payer`s expense. The CM is apparently also pulling every trick in the book(and some, not in book) to get the construction of IMAX Theatre restarted on a children`s park................. vested commercial interest i say! i cannot see reason in encouraging the construction of a concrete jungle in the name of entertainment and children`s learning................we all know that more children used it as a park, as compared to those who might come here for the sake of watching films in theatre.

It seems that all we will be leaving behind for our children is a concrete jungle a few palm trees and some flower pots!

Growing up some kilometers well past Thokar Niazbeg, I can vaguely recall Lahore’s Canal when there was a road on only one side (no dual carriageway). A lot has changed in the past 20 years. Just as back then trees were cut to make room for a road on the other side, trees have been cut to continue with the dual way from Thokar to Bahria Town. Similarly, trees are cut to widen the current two lane roads.

Today as a user of the canal road, I am in support of seeing it widened. However, I have stopped using the Canal road in the mornings precisely because it is way too overcrowded and when there is an accident, it’s usually in the form of several cars having rammed into each other because of the overcrowded two-lane roads.

The mushrooming of traffic is an expected result of economic incentives provided these days with readily available auto-loans. Therefore widening roads by cutting down trees had inevitably become a foregone conclusion.

It`s good to hear you are bringing up this darakht-bachao scheme. But it sounds like barking up the wrong tree if you may. It would be better if you tried to tackle the source of this problem by initiating schemes such as getting people to use public transport more frequently. For example, tax those who drive cars (like myself). When economic policies love you for using cars, it doesn’t really make that much sense to prevent the widening of roads so car users can travel with ease.

Getting the government to encourage public transportation and its use is far more likely to prevent the cutting down of trees. A 24 hour availability of public transport busses would help.

I believe that the green belts along the Canal are there not as just as parks-on-the-side with trees but were meant to reserve space for a future widening of the road. That is my perception.

If you were to launch a campaign for regularly taxing car owners and force the auto-industry mafia to only produce cars for exports, and campaign to implement incentives so people are compelled to use a much cheaper and easily accessible quality public transport I’d support you. Economic incentives such as these will save many more trees. And lungs : )

(So whats your solution buddy, stay stuck on traffic each and every day. )

MRTS maybe the answer.

Regards

Re: # 7
So whats your solution buddy, stay stuck on traffic each and every day.

sure i agree, there are way too many cars on lahores roads, but you cant infringe on peoples right to spend thier wealth by buying transport vehicles. and you cant tell banks to stop schemes like car financing either. they have every right to thier profits. capitalism, live it or die trying not to.

what you can do, is accept the fact that high population growth and rural to urban migration induces cities to develop and development does deal with construction of infrastructure and transportation facilities which effect the oh so precious nature. its life, deal with it.

trees as you mentioned are precious and we need them, but they should be planted all over the country, not just in lahore. the real damage being done is in the northern areas where the cutting has lead to vast number of land slides and severe change in the landscape. not to mention how it effects the rain cycles and water loss.

so how can you really help, well one thing would be to stop making large wooden cottages up north, buying large wooden desks and tables and what not. the vast chunk of trees cut are not to build roads but to make those products. think about it.

btw, the main bouleward is MUCH MUCH better than it used to be

what do you mean roads must be widened and trees can be planted elsewhere? and that the number of trees has grown up to 9 million from 1 million?

those trees have been around for as long as our daddy`s and us put together so i think they deserve respect. plus trees like the ones on the canal take a while to come around. ....remember when they destroyed the main boulevard by cutting all the ancient trees? they supplanted hideous squatty palm trees resembling shahbaz sharif`s willy. imagine arabian palm`s on the canal.....yuck

the number of human`s, the number of cars, and industrial units in lahore have grown far more than the 9 million trees you speak of. i don`t know which part of lahore u like going to but wherever i have been tree have only been cut down. the cantt which was green-green untill a few years has only lost trees. the ones that have been supplanted....someone tell me where they are so i can go check`em out.....

and besides since when has traffic improved on main boulevard? people get stuck just as often...widening the canal is not the solution...castrating shaukat aziz for leasing cars is the solution. its the number of flashy new cars on our streets that are causing our traffic problems.

for god`s sakes, leave the trees alone.

anyone who has travelled on the canal of late will most positively wish they would widen it.

lahore actually has some of the best roads i`ve seen anywhere in the world, esp in the more elite localities like defence, cantt, gulberg and the numerous housing societies. also considering how big a city it is, i think the `sharif`s` and the city admin have done a good job with lahore roads.

as for how wide the canal road should be, well adding one more lane and removing all encroachments, such as fruitwaalas and phoolwaalas to the already existing sidelane would most definitely do the job.

the only problem i see is the livelihoods of the fruit vendors etc getting hurt, the trees as precious as may be can be built elsewhere. btw didnt the CM say they would plant about 11-12 times the number of trees being cut down in different parts of the city.

but i do support the meetings and events of lahore bachao scheme....more information for which can be had from www.danka.com.pk

---

a really cool site indeed.

I don`t understand what is the big fuss about....trees are renewable...just plant them in other places in the city..spread them around...start a tehreek to plant 80,000 trees...10 for each taken down...city admin should support such tehreek and provide some of the logitics like making sure no one uproots the newly planted trees.

[On an emotional level, Lahore is extremely close to being a city which exists only in memory.]

Ama yaar, go easy on reading Feroze sahib!

Seriously, change is the way of life! It is a good idea to get used to it – the trick is to address the concerns. Narey bajee like “darakht bachao” sounds too political – like Mrs. Gandhi’s “ghareebi hatao”!

I recommend planting two trees for every tree destroyed.

The Lahore Bachao Tehreek invites any and all individuals and groups to attent a Citizens` Conference at 5pm at the Ali Auditorium on Ferozepur Road today, 30 June 2006.

The Conference will provide the people of Lahore of a forum from which they can raise their concerns about the development of their city. However, the immediate agenda of the Conference will focus on the plan to widen Lahore`s Canal Road.

In light of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court`s recent suo motu notice of this matter, the Lahore Bachao Tehreek is currently engaged in generating traffic management and urban development solutions to be placed before his Lordship. The private sector and citizens finally have their opportunity to present their case.

Attend the Conference and help the Lahore Bachao Tehreek in making Lahore the city it should be.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

The tree lined canal road is the most beautiful thing about Lahore, felling them is not only a loss of culture but a health hazard. Trees are virtually the lungs of any place. Surely public transport options and a safer pedestrian environment can solve traffic congestion problems.

Thanks for the article.

Only if Lahoris were as vigorous in preserving Hira Mandi. Hell with the trees. There are plenty of trees in Lahore,. The city has grown from less than a million to almost 9 million in less than 30 years, and widening of the roads is a much needed development – the only problem is that it is happening a bit too late and a dollar short.

Here we have multimillion dollar mansions that have sprung up in the last 10-15 years (often times by minor deforestation), but god forbid some city roads be widened to accommodate the mess of a traffic that Lahore is.

“Noise reduction” is a funny reason for preserving the trees. There are other more annoying noises that are needed to be paid attention to. And please, I am not implying the screaming and shouting matches that come out of the minarets many times a day. Let the people sleep, for gods sake.

However, it is nice to see a Lahori being so emotionally stimulated about his city. And that too for a lousy street widening.

Lahore Lahore ay.