The spring plantation drive on Wednesday started at the University of Peshawar, aimed at to a greener and cleaner Greater Campus in the month's long campaign. Vice Chancellor, UoP Professor Dr Muhammad Rasul Jan started the campaign by planting a sapling in the lawn of the Department of Environmental Sciences. He was accompanied by Professor Dr Shahida Zakir, Professor Dr Hezbollah, Dr. Fazl I Nasir and scores of green volunteer students.
The target for this year's drive is to plant ten thousand trees in the Vicinity of the University of Peshawar and ten thousand more in the greater campus, said Vice Chancellor in his address to the inaugural ceremony. He added that the vigorous plantation drive has been initiated in support of the provincial government greener Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Green Growth Initiative) programme, and all the line institutions like the Pakistan Forest Institution would be taken onboard to achieve the target.
Dr. Jan said that we would make it mandatory on every student and employee of the University to plant at least a sapling in the campus and take good care of it for its proper nurturing.
He viewed that the growing population and use of Agricultural land for purposes like the housing societies has posed major threat to the environment and may ultimately lead to severe food insecurity in the country, adding that the same must be avoided and necessary corrective measures be taken for purpose to do the rescue job.
Earlier Chairperson Professor Dr Sahida Zakir said that ill effect of rise in temperature and the issue of global warming can be minimised by planting more trees. She added that with the promotion of green economy, losses caused by the natural and anthropological disasters can be avoided.