LAHORE – Although the arrival of spring is still awaited, the City of Gardens will soon become the City of Flowers as the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has sowed a huge quantity of seeds across the provincial capital.
PHA Director General Mohammad Mehmood said in an exclusive interview with TheNation that he personally monitored and supervised the entire plantation process, as well as regularly checked the performance of the field staff, so that all the areas of the City could be equally treated.
“We focused on poor and middle class localities. Due to steps taken by the PHA, particularly the localities such as Gujarpura, China Scheme, Tajpura, Harbanspura, Green Town and Township have immensely benefitted,” Mehmood said.
Besides residential localities, 25 model roads of the City – including Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, Lahore Branch Canal (from Thokar Niaz Baig to The Mall), Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam (The Mall), Multan Road (Thokar Niaz Baig to Scheme Morr), Main Boulevard Garden Town, Model Town Link Road, GT Road, Liaqat Road to Sabzazar Scheme, Jail Road, Main Boulevard Gulshan-e-Ravi, Allama Iqbal Road, Zafar Ali Road, Minar-e-Pakistan to Yakki Gate, Greenbelt Baradari Road Gujarpura, Shalimar Link Road, Main Boulevard Samanabad, Wahdat Road, Muslim Town Morr to Mustafa Town, Y Chowk to Faisal Town (Roundabout to Jinnah Hospital), Peco Roundabout to Flyover Purani Fruit Mandi Kot Lakhpat, and Hamdard Chowk to College Road (Khyaban-e-Fardausi) – were also being beautified, he added.
The PHA director general said within a short span of time, the authority had started work on the installation of flower stands and Chinese planters in Johar Town for upgrading the area according to international standards. “Under construction model roads will also be decorated with flower plants after the completion of construction work,” he maintained.
Mehmood said the flower planters imported from China, as well as locally-prepared and specially-designed cemented flower pots – were not only durable but also attractive.
Besides these steps, the PHA had also designated special places in greenbelts and parks of the City for the plantation of beautiful plants, he informed.
The director general said the PHA had planted as many as 31,331 plants, including about 10,000 of fruits, in the City. He further said the authority would soon recruit more staff qualified in horticulture considering its rapidly-increasing workload.