ISLAMABAD, Sept 3 (INP): Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will join the nation in ‘Plant for Pakistan’ drive next week by planting hundreds of fragrant flowers here at its main campus.

“We welcome the drive, inaugurated by Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and wish to have a leading role in making it successful,” said Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui.

The University will involve in students and faculty members to become the part of this national task. It has been the University’s regular efforts to promote the concept of green Pakistan through its around 1.3 million students and 44 regional offices across the county, he added.

Being a mega educational institution in the public sector, the AIOU had been taking part in seasonal plantation drive.

It has undertaken a monsoon plantation’s drive last month in collaboration with Punjab Forest Department and Friends of Environment, Islamabad (An NGO). The saplings were planted by the Vice Chancellor along with senior officials of the University.

The event was arranged by the University’s agriculture department (Horticulture section). The Punjab Forest Department has provided 1000 saplings of fruits to the University to involve its students and academic staff in the campaign.

In its efforts to promote plantation drive, the University also regularly takes part in various flowers’ competitions and has been winning top positions due to hard-working of the University’s gardeners.

A botanical garden has been recently set up at AIOU main campus for promoting research in horticulture sector. The botanical garden works as open lab with documented collections of living plants for scientific research, conservation and display.

According to Fouzia Anjum, incharge Horticulture department, the saplings were planted with the names and tags of the University’s academicians and officers.

INP/LK