Rawalpindi: City’s lungs in danger: vanishing green spaces, parks

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Aamir Yasin
RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi city is fast losing its greenery as over the years the development process has wiped out many parks and green spaces while the remaining ones are dangerously close to their extinction due to the negligence of the authorities concerned.

The deteriorating condition of parks and green spaces are worrying the residents. Various surveys conducted by national and international organisations show that air pollution levels in the city have either crossed safety limits or on the threshold of danger.

The Ministry of Environment has also identified Rawalpindi among the six cities of Pakistan where air quality has deteriorated rapidly due to different factors.

Asthma and lung-related diseases are on the rise due to growing air pollution. During a visit to allied hospitals, Daily Times found that over 100 people suffering from lung diseases were visiting District Headquarters Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and Rawalpindi General Hospital daily. However, doctors said it was a rough estimate, as no hospital maintained proper record of such patients.

Doctors said air of the city was polluted with gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. They said these gases irritated the upper respiratory system of human beings and they could also trigger strokes and heart attacks.

Quality of the air we breathe is affecting health of our lungs and entire respiratory system, said Dr M Hussain Baloch, Holy Family Hospital’s former medical superintendent. He said the air contained such pollutants, which were harmful for human beings.

He said both the residents and the government were responsible for the environmental degradation. He said it was duty of every citizen to plant a tree to improve the deteriorating condition of the environment and maintain engines of their vehicles to check emission of dangerous gases. He said the government should improve the conditions of parks and green belts along the roads and implement environment related laws.

The federal and provincial governments have failed to launch any programme to address the issue of environment degradation in the city. All the programmes initiated by the federal government are focused on Islamabad and its adjoining city Rawalpindi is being ignored.

The city district government plants more than 300,000 saplings every year during monsoon season but in reality the city presents a barren look even in the rainy season.

Environmentalists are of the view that more green spaces and parks would reduce the air pollution and lower temperatures in the city. They termed green spaces and parks as lungs of the any city. They said look after of saplings was also necessary as many of them dried due to inattention.

The city had several parks in the past but now only a few of them are providing some relief to the residents. In the list of Rawal Town Municipal Administration there are 20 big, medium and small parks but they are in shambles and at least seven of them could be developed into good parks.

In the list of Potohar Town Municipal Administration there are only a few small parks. In the lists of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and Chaklala Cantonment Boards there are five big and three small parks.

But all of these parks only Shamsabad Public Park, Liaquat Bagh Park, Ayub Park and Jinnah Park can accommodate a fair number of people. Some of the areas designated as parks including Sarwar, Shah Baloot and Roomi parks hardly meet the criterion of a park and need attention of the relevant authorities.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_1