PESHAWAR:Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) kicked off monsoon tree plantation drive here on Monday with the aim of planting hundreds of trees in localities under its jurisdiction.
The drive was inaugurated by Chief Executive Officer Dr Hassan Nasir by planting a sapling at Zone-E, one of its five zonal offices.
General Manager (ops) Riaz Ahmad Khan, Chief Financial Officer Haider Khan, zonal managers Turab Shah, Tariq Aziz, Amir Gul Khattak, Maria Shehnaz and Anwarul Haq were also present on the occasion.
They also planted saplings and will plant more in their respective zones.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nasir urged masses to plant at least one tree if they wanted to reduce impacts of heatwaves and climate change.
“Trees filter the air for us, they are essential and indispensable for existence of life on earth,” he said. Dr Hassan said heatwaves, droughts followed by sudden rains had become frequent causing serious damage in terms of life and infrastructure and to lessen its impacts people should plant more and more trees.
He said that for a natural and fresh environment, people must grow plants in pots inside their houses as well as cover their roofs with them. “Trees are guarantor of life, absorb carbon dioxide from air and release oxygen,” the CEO maintained. Trees can help recover the depleting water table in the city, since they absorb water, he added.
CEO WSSP urged sanitary workers to take care of trees in localities under WSSP jurisdiction by watering them regularly.