Lahoris praise green SC notice on widening of canal

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Civil society members, NGOs considering launch of signature campaign to highlight canal’s significance

By Afnan Khan


LAHORE: Citizens of the provincial capital have praised the Supreme Court’s suo motu notice of the Canal Road-widening project – which was launched by the Punjab government.

Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif earlier announced that Canal Road would be widened from Thokar Niaz Baig to Dharampura under Rs 3.15 billion project, but members of the civil society and non-government organisations strongly objected to the plan – branding it an “environmental and cultural disaster for the city”.

Citizens are currently planning to launch a campaign across Lahore as a symbolic gesture to highlight “what the canal means to Lahoris”. Also, citizens and NGOs are holding meetings in various parts of the city to welcome the Supreme Court’s recent suo motu notice of the matter. Environmentalist Lt Col ® Ejaz Ahmad Nazim told Daily Times that the court’s notice was a great ray of hope for the residents of Lahore, as they now knew they would not loose the centuries-old canal and its ecology.

“No one else could have stopped this recklessness of Punjab government. The people of Lahore will always remain grateful to the SC for giving them an opportunity to have their say in important matters like the canal, which is serving as a lifeline for the environment of Lahore,” said Nazim.

He said that as Lahore was the “most polluted city in the country”, the loss of more than 15,000 trees and tens of thousands of other precious plants “in the name of road widening would have wreaked environmental havoc in the city”. He said the Punjab government “surprisingly launched the project ... pretending there is no other solution to the issue”.

“Architects and urban planners in the country have already opposed the widening of Canal Road as a solution to the traffic problems in the city. They have also given a number of better solutions for the problem, but the government has not taken their proposals into consideration,” said Nazim.

A conservationist, Rafay Alam, told Daily Times that civil society members and various NGOs had planned several meetings and events to discuss future plans, especially after the SC notice.

He said some civil society members had also proposed a signature campaign at various offices and institutions across the city to highlight “how much the Lahoris care for their city and environment”.

“But some people believe that we won’t need a signature campaign or any other activity ... [they say we] only have wait for the SC to decide the matter. We are going to meet at 6pm tomorrow and decide on future plans,” said Alam.

The issue dominated official work at Punjab government departments, but officers related to the matter remained quiet over the issue in front of the media.

However, a senior Punjab government official told Daily Times all officers from the Environment Department, TEPA and LDA remained busy in preparing presentations and cases for the higher authorities throughout the day. He said officers were also piling up the files on the matter for future use.