First phase of the first ever public fruit garden completed on Thursday with plantation of 200 saplings of a variety of fruit plants in connection with the Independence Day tree plantation. The first ever public fruit garden is being developed on Major Road-4 in the greenbelt of D-12/2, Islamabad.
Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) has launched this initiative in partnership with Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), National Centre of Cleaner Production (NCPC), Islamabad, Devcom Centennial Leo Club (IDCLC) and FM 100.
Addressing on the occasion, Senator Sitara Ayaz, Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, said protection of trees is equally important as the plantation of trees itself.
She said all efforts are focused on plantation but we hardly see efforts in protection of green cover especially in our cities. She said it has many benefits in one go, the public-private partnership, citizens’ monitoring and crops for communities.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayor Islamabad Anser Aziz Sheikh said the public-private partnership is a key to success for social change. Starved for financial resources, he said MCI needs the cooperation of civil society organizations and philanthropists to come up with green initiatives to make the federal capital more clean and green.
He said MCI has very limited resources and we look forward to the federal government for increased funding to do the needful to improve the water and sanitation services, improve the green cover and healthy facilities.
Deputy Mayor Zeeshan Naqvi said the public fruit gardens’ idea was different one. With the support and leadership of Devcom-Pakistan, MCI would be developing more gardens in Islamabad, and we welcome other civil society organizations to be part of the initiative.
