KARACHI - Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Rear Admiral (retd) Jamil Akhtar termed the plantation of mangroves as extremely necessary for the ports and port cities to avoid natural calamities like Tsunamis, Heat Waves and announced a full year mangrove plantation campaign 2020-21 under which KPT would plant 100,000 mangroves every quarter.
The chairman KPT made this announcement while speaking at the launching ceremony of mangroves plantation campaign 2020-21 on Tuesday.
The ceremony was attended by all the general managers, senior and middle management officials of KPT besides media and other guests.
Sharing the details of the programme, the chairman KPT informed further that mangrove plantation would take place quarter-wise throughout the campaign year and side by side activities like public awareness campaign outreaching school children in second quarter, conferences and symposia arrangements in third quarter and marine eco-tourism entertainment for local hotels in fourth quarters had been scheduled under this campaign.
He said that the participation in the betterment of natural environment would result in expansion of industrial setup linked with fishing community and trade which ultimately led in creation of more job opportunities under healthy environment.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the KPT general manager operations Rear Admiral Zaka-ur-Rehman spoke about global change that had taken place to cause 35 percent reduction in mangroves plantation.
He informed the chief guest chairman KPT Rear Admiral (retd) Jamil Akhtar about safeguarding 1,000 hectares mangroves forests falling in the domain of the port through such campaigns in past as regular feature.
He said participation of school children had though been avoided this time due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Moreover, he shared information about providing lands to WWF at Sands Pit for mangroves plantation, Jinnah Naval Base, Pakistan Army Engineering Corp Rahim Yar Khan and Pakistan Marine Academy in past for mangrove plantation.
Later, the chief guest chairman KPT Rear Admiral (R) Jamil Akhtar performed the mangrove plantation along with media to conclude the proceedings of the day.