Pakistan: Sindh forest department sets record by planting 100,000 saplings in six hours near Hyderabad

Karachi: The Sindh government’s Forest Department has set a new record of planting 100,000 saplings of different plant and tree species in just six hours in the Kathri Forest near Hyderabad, the second largest city in Sindh province.

Chairman of Pakistan Peoples’ Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the concluding ceremony of the plantation campaign.

The Kathri Forest spreads over 1,027 acres and forest regeneration is being carried out in over 500 acres, which had earlier been under unauthorised occupation and not being used as forest land.

The latest single-day drive to plant 100,000 saplings was conducted on 100 acres land of the forest using 14 indigenous plant species. Around 150 personnel and helpers of the Forest Department participated in the plantation campaign from 7am to 1pm.

Earlier, staff worked for 27 days to make the unused forest land ready for mass plantation.

Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal said the urban forest would not only serve to protect the environment but also generate livelihood opportunities for the residents of Hyderabad. He lauded the efforts of the Sindh Forest Department to grow urban forests at different spots in Karachi.

Bilawal said the Sindh government had already set a world record by planting 1.7 billion mangrove trees along the coastal belt of the province.

He said the mangrove plantation would go a long way in protecting the marine ecology of the Indus River Delta near the coastline of the province.