MULTAN, Mar 23 (APP): Ahmad Jawad, a horticulturist, has demanded complete ban on cutting of mango trees in Multan as thousands of acres of mango orchards in the district are being annexed for housing societies.
Ahmad Jawad, former chief on Horticulture Exports of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said it took 15-20 years for a mango seedling to grow into a proper tree. He said the conversion of agricultural and cultivable lands into housing societies was a big challenge for the country’s development, which must be stopped immediately.
“High-rise buildings may be constructed instead of horizontal ones to minimize the use of land,” he suggested. The FPCCI official said back in 2019, the annual deforestation rate in Pakistan was recorded as the highest. Preference might be given to housing projects on unproductive and infertile lands to reduce pressure on agriculture lands, he stressed.
According to reports , around 6,000 acres of mango orchards across the city have been cut down. Only Multan district produces around 25 percent of total production of mangoes in Pakistan.
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