A 71-year-old FCA Chartered Accountant is on a ‘single person protest’ against the KMC and Cantonment Board for cutting trees in his areas. His sudden appearance on the busy Gizri Chowrangi has turned him into an interesting character for passers-by to look at.
He is determined to stop the cutting of trees in Karachi for which he is ready to come to the spot each day for the rest of his life. He informed HTV Stands for (Health Taste and Vitality) that “this is a start – let me succeed to save trees, there is a long list that follows.”
Residents around the Punjab Chowrangi-Sunset Boulevard, Karachi, have observed the old man protesting against cutting of trees in the name of beautification, for the last two weeks now.
Mr Dagia started the protest on July 28, 2015 – he spends one hour each day near Punjab Chowrangi, from 5pm to 6pm with his banner that reads,
“Stop tree cutting – Remove billboards – Replant trees.”
He informed that he is protesting for Karachi’s civic issues, specifically sewerage, solid waste, clean water and pollution.Trees are essential for the reduction of pollution – they can easily thrive on sewerage water, which in his words ‘is in abundance on the roads of Karachi’.
“Trees are being cut in the name of beautification on Shahrah-e-Faisal. They are being replaced by huge bill boards,” said the Chartered Account, “the authorities are compromising over healthy lifestyle by replacing trees with billboards, just because billboards won’t be visible behind trees.”
He recalled the heat wave relating the climatic shift of Pakistan to deforestation. “The situation of Karachi is worst, but the Sindh government is sleeping.”
Though other provinces like Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have realized the importance of trees, Sindh still remains backward. K-P has currently taken the green growth initiative.
Read: KPK’s strong ambition of going green: http://htv.com.pk/news/kpks-strong-ambition-of-going-green
He said that no government assurance has been provided to him for his appeal, but he is getting a positive response from the public – people stop and join him in his protest each day.
“The officials are sleeping – they think I am an old mad person, who would one day stop coming,” said that 71-year-old, “but I would not go until I am alive and my health permits – and even if I face a health related problem, I would return after I am fine – I will continue the protest until this act is not stopped in Karachi.”
