DURING a recent hiking adventure at Margalla Hills in Islamabad, I spotted numerous people who were busy picking up empty biscuit packs, juice boxes and other waste materials thrown on the hiking treks by careless daily visitors.

What caught my attention was that they were obviously not the designated garbage collectors wearing the markings of the CDA. On inquiry, I found out they were employees of a cellular network provider and were volunteers.

It was only as a result of their efforts that I realised how much waste was actually lying around the area. Despite availability of waste bins people have a tendency to throw trash without realising what this could do to the environment.

I know that a cleaning activity from a couple of dozen volunteers cannot clear the hills off trash. However, the bigger message was in the action itself.

At least I pledged to myself not to litter again. But these people were actually making a contribution towards reviving the picturesque image of these hills in their own way.

I was instantly driven towards joining these friends of nature, and spent a couple of hours helping them. It is surely beyond the capacity of the government alone to conduct regular cleaning of the green forests and mountainous terrains.

Every Pakistani needs to realise his/her duty and play an active role in keeping the country clean and green.

Similarly, the corporate sector, so I saw, can also contribute towards maintaining the freshness of our atmosphere and beauty of our landscapes by keeping the vegetation and forests free of trash and other pollutants.

MOHSIN TAHIR Rawalpindi