THE ruthless onslaught of smog has already inflicted visible damage on the personal lives of humans and animals, disrupted businesses, and slowed work pace in smog-hit regions of Pakistan. It is the cumulative negative effect of the natural air overloaded with pollutants aided by smoke generated by mechanical engines and over-lit housing, markets and non-housing structures. Smog – a combination of smoke and fog – is a generative negative environment or environs. Its immediate solutions are sought in resorting to less vehicular mobility, gas emissions, avoidance of wastes burning, less energy use etc.
But how dare the oppressive smog overwhelm the human and animal life with its rage? Some human-done works primarily contribute towards generation of smog. Both massive trees plantation and vegetation growth nurse both the air and terrestrial atmosphere pollution-free; but here in our socio-demographic milieu this formula stands neglected. Our national attitude is somewhat anti-trees and anti-vegetation; a major contribution comes from the housing societies; they invariably clear their project areas from vegetation and trees to fit the environs for their housing units; apparently there seems no restriction on them not to damage this soil-grown natural wealth, national wealth, wealth for safe health; so the loss to human health is tangible.
Nurturing the environment to ensure human health through nature’s remedies is a vital consideration. For example, the British East India Company, which controlled the socio-demographic landscape of the Indian subcontinent from 1600 CE until its disbandment in 1874, undertook commendable efforts to sustain nature. The Company planted trees across hundreds of acres, creating ‘Company Gardens’ or ‘Company Bagh.’ Two such gardens exist in present-day Pakistan: Company Bagh Rawalpindi (now Liaquat Bagh) and Company Bagh Murree. These gardens stayed young and fresh until the departure of the British from the subcontinent around 1947,48,49, but after this period we witness an unusual slashing of trees of these Gardens and elsewhere too.
Surely that must have been carried out with the mutual connivance of the influential people and the forest bosses; otherwise no one can dare cut government owned trees property. Another example: Azad Kashmir was queen of trees/forests; the same spate of slashing has freed that zone of the country from rich forests, flora and fauna. Today towards Pakistan side in AJK Line of Control the region is almost naked to the depths of the earth. These examples are just for reminding the ‘palace royals’ what we have done, are doing with our own natural environment. And now we, as a nation, are mourning the damage done by the smog. Both trees and the vegetation keep the air and earthly environment clean, healthy and human-nursing.
Freshest example of trees slashing is that a forest belt on the eastern side of Islamabad (NURI hospital), a government hospital, was cleared of the wealth of trees only one and a half years back. No one uttered anything then of pro-forest sympathy. These examples show how careless our national approach is towards national natural wealth. Now, besides applying routine methods to control pollutants floatable in the air, a new approach shall have to be adopted: growing domestic roof gardens and vegetations.
Citizens less familiar with this approach shall have to be indoctrinated socially, culturally and of course politically too. Upper floors of the roofs of public, big private houses shall first have to be concretized so that water seepage chances are eliminated. As a start: this initiative must be applied first for official buildings, apartments, mansions extendable to market buildings and structures. This new approach to keep environments clear and healthful is a national need. For this good purpose some humane legislation should be adopted/promulgated by the provincial/federal governments. Sooner it the proposed plan takes off the ground the better for smart health of citizens and non-humans as well.
—The writer, a retired Secretary in AJK Govt, is a senior columnist, based in Rawalpindi.
