RAWALPINDI: Punjab forest department will plant 741,475 saplings in six districts of Rawalpindi division on March 21 in connection with World Forest Day.

It was informed in a meeting held at the commissioner`s office. Commissioner Amir Khattak chaired the meeting and reviewed the arrangements for the campaign. The meeting was attended by Parks and Horticulture Authority Director General Ahmed Hassan Ranjha, Additional Deputy Commissioner General Hasaan Tariq, Chief Conservator Forest Iftikhar Faroogi, and other concerned officials.

The commissioner said that at the beginning of spring, the largest `World Forest Day` campaign is being launched across Punjab on March 21 so that the dream of Green Punjab can come true.

`These trees planted today will be guarantors of our healthy tomorrow. They will help us to mitigate Smog, pollution, and other fatalrespiratory diseases. Also, the threats of flood and other calamities will be minimal,` he said.

He said that the forest department is not alone responsible for plantation; in fact, it is the responsibility of every citizen. Therefore, the forest department should involve all other departments and give them targets. He stressed that planting trees alone is not enough. `The survival rate of these plants is the actual success of this campaign. He directed forest department to keep a record of survival of the planted trees,` he said.

Briefing on the occasion, Chief Conservator Forest said that the Rawalpindi Division has been assigned a target of planting 741,475 trees for this campaign. As per details, 95,500 plants in Rawalpindi district, 7,235 plants in Attock district, 127,100 plants in Jhelum district, 1,000 plants in Chakwal district, and 510,640 plants in Murree district have been assigned.

Moreover, various events have been planned throughout the Division to observe World Forest Day, and a mega event has been planned in Murree. Students, heads of government departments, political leaders, and other concerned people will attend this event. Commissioner urged general public to proactively participate in the event and play their part as responsible citizen. Staff Reporter