Darakhat Bachao, Lahore Bachao

Only if Lahoris were as vigorous in preserving Hira Mandi. Hell with the trees. There are plenty of trees in Lahore,. The city has grown from less than a million to almost 9 million in less than 30 years, and widening of the roads is a much needed development – the only problem is that it is happening a bit too late and a dollar short.

Here we have multimillion dollar mansions that have sprung up in the last 10-15 years (often times by minor deforestation), but god forbid some city roads be widened to accommodate the mess of a traffic that Lahore is.

“Noise reduction” is a funny reason for preserving the trees. There are other more annoying noises that are needed to be paid attention to. And please, I am not implying the screaming and shouting matches that come out of the minarets many times a day. Let the people sleep, for gods sake.

However, it is nice to see a Lahori being so emotionally stimulated about his city. And that too for a lousy street widening.

Lahore Lahore ay.

The tree lined canal road is the most beautiful thing about Lahore, felling them is not only a loss of culture but a health hazard. Trees are virtually the lungs of any place. Surely public transport options and a safer pedestrian environment can solve traffic congestion problems.

Thanks for the article.

The Lahore Bachao Tehreek invites any and all individuals and groups to attent a Citizens` Conference at 5pm at the Ali Auditorium on Ferozepur Road today, 30 June 2006.

The Conference will provide the people of Lahore of a forum from which they can raise their concerns about the development of their city. However, the immediate agenda of the Conference will focus on the plan to widen Lahore`s Canal Road.

In light of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court`s recent suo motu notice of this matter, the Lahore Bachao Tehreek is currently engaged in generating traffic management and urban development solutions to be placed before his Lordship. The private sector and citizens finally have their opportunity to present their case.

Attend the Conference and help the Lahore Bachao Tehreek in making Lahore the city it should be.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

[On an emotional level, Lahore is extremely close to being a city which exists only in memory.]

Ama yaar, go easy on reading Feroze sahib!

Seriously, change is the way of life! It is a good idea to get used to it – the trick is to address the concerns. Narey bajee like “darakht bachao” sounds too political – like Mrs. Gandhi’s “ghareebi hatao”!

I recommend planting two trees for every tree destroyed.

I don`t understand what is the big fuss about....trees are renewable...just plant them in other places in the city..spread them around...start a tehreek to plant 80,000 trees...10 for each taken down...city admin should support such tehreek and provide some of the logitics like making sure no one uproots the newly planted trees.

anyone who has travelled on the canal of late will most positively wish they would widen it.

lahore actually has some of the best roads i`ve seen anywhere in the world, esp in the more elite localities like defence, cantt, gulberg and the numerous housing societies. also considering how big a city it is, i think the `sharif`s` and the city admin have done a good job with lahore roads.

as for how wide the canal road should be, well adding one more lane and removing all encroachments, such as fruitwaalas and phoolwaalas to the already existing sidelane would most definitely do the job.

the only problem i see is the livelihoods of the fruit vendors etc getting hurt, the trees as precious as may be can be built elsewhere. btw didnt the CM say they would plant about 11-12 times the number of trees being cut down in different parts of the city.

but i do support the meetings and events of lahore bachao scheme....more information for which can be had from www.danka.com.pk

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a really cool site indeed.

what do you mean roads must be widened and trees can be planted elsewhere? and that the number of trees has grown up to 9 million from 1 million?

those trees have been around for as long as our daddy`s and us put together so i think they deserve respect. plus trees like the ones on the canal take a while to come around. ....remember when they destroyed the main boulevard by cutting all the ancient trees? they supplanted hideous squatty palm trees resembling shahbaz sharif`s willy. imagine arabian palm`s on the canal.....yuck

the number of human`s, the number of cars, and industrial units in lahore have grown far more than the 9 million trees you speak of. i don`t know which part of lahore u like going to but wherever i have been tree have only been cut down. the cantt which was green-green untill a few years has only lost trees. the ones that have been supplanted....someone tell me where they are so i can go check`em out.....

and besides since when has traffic improved on main boulevard? people get stuck just as often...widening the canal is not the solution...castrating shaukat aziz for leasing cars is the solution. its the number of flashy new cars on our streets that are causing our traffic problems.

for god`s sakes, leave the trees alone.

Re: # 7
So whats your solution buddy, stay stuck on traffic each and every day.

sure i agree, there are way too many cars on lahores roads, but you cant infringe on peoples right to spend thier wealth by buying transport vehicles. and you cant tell banks to stop schemes like car financing either. they have every right to thier profits. capitalism, live it or die trying not to.

what you can do, is accept the fact that high population growth and rural to urban migration induces cities to develop and development does deal with construction of infrastructure and transportation facilities which effect the oh so precious nature. its life, deal with it.

trees as you mentioned are precious and we need them, but they should be planted all over the country, not just in lahore. the real damage being done is in the northern areas where the cutting has lead to vast number of land slides and severe change in the landscape. not to mention how it effects the rain cycles and water loss.

so how can you really help, well one thing would be to stop making large wooden cottages up north, buying large wooden desks and tables and what not. the vast chunk of trees cut are not to build roads but to make those products. think about it.

btw, the main bouleward is MUCH MUCH better than it used to be

(So whats your solution buddy, stay stuck on traffic each and every day. )

MRTS maybe the answer.

Regards

Growing up some kilometers well past Thokar Niazbeg, I can vaguely recall Lahore’s Canal when there was a road on only one side (no dual carriageway). A lot has changed in the past 20 years. Just as back then trees were cut to make room for a road on the other side, trees have been cut to continue with the dual way from Thokar to Bahria Town. Similarly, trees are cut to widen the current two lane roads.

Today as a user of the canal road, I am in support of seeing it widened. However, I have stopped using the Canal road in the mornings precisely because it is way too overcrowded and when there is an accident, it’s usually in the form of several cars having rammed into each other because of the overcrowded two-lane roads.

The mushrooming of traffic is an expected result of economic incentives provided these days with readily available auto-loans. Therefore widening roads by cutting down trees had inevitably become a foregone conclusion.

It`s good to hear you are bringing up this darakht-bachao scheme. But it sounds like barking up the wrong tree if you may. It would be better if you tried to tackle the source of this problem by initiating schemes such as getting people to use public transport more frequently. For example, tax those who drive cars (like myself). When economic policies love you for using cars, it doesn’t really make that much sense to prevent the widening of roads so car users can travel with ease.

Getting the government to encourage public transportation and its use is far more likely to prevent the cutting down of trees. A 24 hour availability of public transport busses would help.

I believe that the green belts along the Canal are there not as just as parks-on-the-side with trees but were meant to reserve space for a future widening of the road. That is my perception.

If you were to launch a campaign for regularly taxing car owners and force the auto-industry mafia to only produce cars for exports, and campaign to implement incentives so people are compelled to use a much cheaper and easily accessible quality public transport I’d support you. Economic incentives such as these will save many more trees. And lungs : )

I would like to add to what rozaiba has already mentioned in her/his interact.

I remember going to Sacred Heart School, Thornton Road(renamed Agha Shorish Kaashmiri Rd.) and enjoying the shade of trees throughout the mall, especially while coming back from school on hot summer afternoons. In monsoon evenings one could hear birds in these huge trees lining the mall. but, not any more.

Has someone noticed that the CM has `killled` really old trees with thick wide trunks to build yet another secretarat inside GOR. what has replaced these trees and the old construction is a disasterously hideous construction called the CM secretariat. just a year or so ago, he ordered the felling of trees inside the Freemason`s building where he moved his CM secretariat.......................... how many does the man need?

Recently the Nazim decided to chop off trees in front of Gymkhana Club, just for the sake of constructing another patch of road/turning especially for Nazim House!..................he did not seem to like wasting time trying to turn the corner just a few yards away!

Remember the St. Mary`s Park a.k.a. doongi ground! during the tenure of the previous chairman LDA (now chairman CDA) someone was contracted to fill up the ground to ensure no water accumelated in it. When the venue of the IMAX Theatre was changed from the empty plot on ferozpur road to this ground, some party again got the `theka` to dig up the plot. all at the tax-payer`s expense. The CM is apparently also pulling every trick in the book(and some, not in book) to get the construction of IMAX Theatre restarted on a children`s park................. vested commercial interest i say! i cannot see reason in encouraging the construction of a concrete jungle in the name of entertainment and children`s learning................we all know that more children used it as a park, as compared to those who might come here for the sake of watching films in theatre.

It seems that all we will be leaving behind for our children is a concrete jungle a few palm trees and some flower pots!

Rafay...

Well written as usual...

Canal road widening will not help traffic flow for the reasons I enumerated in one of ilogs a week or so ago.

Rafay is in a position to confirm this.

From my ilogs:

June 23, 2006

Tree cutting... and widening of roads...

Those who wish to cut the canal trees in the name of ``Development`` ... need to consider the following..

1- The widening of the road will lead to a saving of 7 minutes in total... the cost of the proposed project ? Rs 700 MILLION ... Is this fair? As per law, each project exceeding 50 Million Rupees needs prior public approval.

2- Secondly the EPA is a piece of progressive legislation which envisages direct public involvement ... it is the people`s right to opine in a matter so close to their heart.

3- The project envisages 4 lane Highway... the underpasses are at best three lanes... and at places 2 lanes... Genuine planners will tell you that traffic is only as fast as its narrowest point.

4- The trees are not just for shade... they have a very important role in sucking up the seepage water from canal and as a wall against noise pollution for adjoining residential areas.

5- Pollution will increase as average speeds rise from 60 KM to 80 KM meaning more exhaust, more pollution.

6-The creation of this 4 lane Highway would mean an end to all cycle wallahs, rehraywallahs, and other poor people. The thoroughfare would be for the rich and only the rich.

Manto,

Yes, procedural necessities have to be taken and one should support that that happens.

While I`d prefer the widening of the road to four lanes, I think it would be highly - incredibly stupid of the goverment to not widen the underpasses as well. But then again, it`s the government...

Again, only by reducing the # of cars can you defer if not stop the cutting of trees. When consumers are encouraged to buy cars instead of using public transportation with traffic doubling every few years, the cutting down of trees is a foregone conclusion.

Re: # 14
1- Point made, it needs public approval....700 million is heavy but i think its worth the time and headaches avoided. do u know the number of people who travel through the canal every day, or for that matter every hour?

2- piblic opinion is a must, thats why we`re having this discussion :)

3- 4 lane, is not the best idea, i agree. but 3 lanes with no encroachments would be worth it.

4- im sure theres better alternatives to deal with seepage waters than having trees. as for the noise levels for the people living in the canal, my message is...``ur living in the middle of the country`s second biggest city going through a development phase....what do you expect....tranquility!``

5- so dozens of cars standing on a stand still for 10 minutes because of traffic jams dont cause pollution...hmmm

6- this one i agree with, the fruit vendors and people using bicycles will need to switch onto the existing side lane.