LAKKI MARWAT: Like others parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, monsoon tree plantation campaign was launched in Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Mansehra, Khyber, and Kohat districts on Friday.

Bannu division commissioner Khalid Mehmood has asked the management of the University of Science and Technology to allocate marks in examinations for students who grow trees and take care of them.

`The move will help highlight the importance of planting trees and conserving environment,` he saidwhile speaking at a function held on the varsity premises in Bannu on Friday.

On the occasion, he inaugurated monsoon tree plantation drive by sowing fruit seedlings and said that more than 23,000 fruit saplings would be planted in Bannu division under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government`s public service agenda.

Hundreds of fruit plants were planted by students, faculty members, civil society activists and government employees in both Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts.

In Mansehra, the police department launched the monsoon tree plantation drive across the district, pledging to plant thousands of saplings at police stations and lines to promote a cleaner and greener environment.

`Our force will actively participate in the ongoing monsoon plantation campaign, and thousands of saplings will be planted across the district for a pleasant and pollutionfree environment,` district police officer Shafiullah Khan Gandapur told the plantation`s launching cere-mony held at the New Circuit House on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner Mian Behzad Adil also attended the ceremony and joined the DPO Gandapur in planting saplings to mark the beginning of the campaign.

The DPO directed superintendents of police, deputy superintendents, and station house officers to ensure plantation at all police stations, checkposts, and offices under their supervision.

In Khyber, the local forest department kicked off its two-week monsoon plantation drive with a change in its strategy by distributing fruit plants instead of ordinary shade trees among the local residents as per the provincial government`s explicit directives for this year`s plantation campaign.

Officials said that around 10,000 saplings of apple, citrus fruit, apricot, plums and some other seasonal fruits would be distributed during the events to be organised in different localities of the districts in coming two weeksThey said objective of distributing fruit plants was aimed at spreading awareness among the masses about importance of tree plantation in their localities.

District forest officer Zahid Mehsud told Dawn that the responsibility of looking after the newlyplanted fruit plants would lie with those who would be provided with these saplings free of cost while the department would provide only advisory service.

In Kohat, commissioner Syed Motasim Billah Shah inaugurated the plantation campaign by planting fruit saplings in the local office of the agriculture department. He also distributed free fruit plants among the progressive growers.

Speaking on the occasion, the commissioner said tree plantation was not only a means of protecting the environment but also a guarantee to a safe future for the next generations. He urged all the government institutions to plant maximum trees within their premises and ensure their proper care.