ISLAMABAD: The residents of capital city on Sunday demanded of Capital Development Authority (CDA) to pay their attention on cutting and trimming the overgrown grass in and around its green belts.
The lush green federal capital has revived its scenic natural beauty at the onset of monsoon rains whereas the overgrown grass during the budding season has increased problems of pedestrians strolling on the green belts.
Nimra Shahid, a resident of sector G-7 who is also a botanist narrated her problems being faced due to wild grass left untrimmed by the civic bodies in the Capital.
Ms Shahid told reporter that the lush grass used to provide perfect breeding ground for many insects like mosquitoes, adding health hazards in the community acting as catalysts to vector diseases like malaria and dengue.
“Damp places, moisture and shady areas provide favourable habitat to dengue larvae to breed that causes deadly infection and it is only preventable through cleanliness and eradicating its habitat, ” she added.
Though, the foliage growing rampant appeased public but it was detrimental in case of providing conducive environment for mosquitoes like dengue that could create a serious health crisis, the Botanist highlighted.
Akram Shah, a university student got injured while running through a greenbelt as his foot got stuck in ditch covered under the grass. “I like greenery very much but not at the cost of my health. The unkempt grass led me to face a serious injury that would have been preventable if the green cover was less or properly maintained, ” he told.
He urged the quarters concerned to take note of the situation and direct the relevant staff for prompt action on the matter.
“The overgrown grass hides the holes and ditches causing the pedestrians to trip over. Every day many people including the children and the elderly face small injuries, ” he said while raising his concerns over the issue.
Ashar Ali, a retired public servant said the people of Islamabad felt like they were unheard, as the concerned authorities like Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) treated the issue as an unimportant one, little to nothing was being done in this regard.
“Every time the said issue is brought up, the authorities feed the citizens with a crammed up flat reply, ” he regretted.
When contacted, Director General CDA, Environment Wing Irfan Niazi said, “The Authority is currently working on major urban sites to cut wild grass and would consequently serve the remaining areas.”
He welcomed general public to approach his office for any complaint pertaining to various civic issues and would facilitated on priority whereas they should cooperate with the Authority during peak season.
Islamabad based Environmentalist and Climate Change activist, Haroon Azmat said the Capital could be saved from diseases like malaria and dengue that become rampant during peak monsoon season in the country. It would be prevented by timely action of the authorities, he underscored.
He concluded that the solution rested in the hands of the government as well as the citizens to play their individual roles in preserving the environment and avoiding inconvenience in the future.
395