Date trees face premature death

LAHORE, March 27: Most of the 100 or so date trees, planted at Circular Road last year by the Parks and Horticulture Authority, have started dying owing primarily to unsuitable soil and excessive watering. Circular Road became the third thoroughfare of the Punjab capital in November last year to have date trees after Gulberg`s main boulevard and Khayaban-i-Jinnah. From near the shrine of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajvery to Azadi Chowk, around 100 date trees were planted at the Circular Road green belt by the PHA as part of its campaign to make Lahore greener. The price of each plant ranged between Rs40,000 and Rs45,000 and the plantation was carried out in spite of opposition by many in the PHA. The opponents were of the view that plantation of date trees at Gulberg`s main boulevard and Khayaban-i-Jinnah had drawn criticism by environmentalists on the ground that Lahore turned very hot in summers and needed shade which necessitated plantation of mostly large native trees with large, spreading leafy canopies along the roads. A source in the PHA told Dawn that the Circular Road plantation was carried out in haste. "The plantation at other two places in Lahore was carried out in a scientific way. Since Lahore soil is not suitable for date trees, big and deep ditches were prepared and filled with appropriate material. Extra care was taken while watering the trees, especially during winter. No such measures were taken in case of Circular Road," claimed the source. Convenor Col Ijaz Nazim of Shajar Dost Tehreek, a tree-lovers organisation, pointed out another example of the PHA haste. "Date trees are tall ones but a good number of the same have been planted under the electricity wires. The fate of these plants would not be different from the ones planted under electricity wires, if at all they survived. Tall trees are ruined every year by pruning when their branches start interfering with overhead wires. There are several species of trees but all are given the same savage treatment. Where only a couple of branches needed to be nipped, entire limbs are brought down and tops of most trees are utterly ruined. When the people involved left, trees appeared as if they had been devastated in an air attack. Most such trees die after one or two such savage pruning," he said.