A dedicated team equipped with tree-planter cranes, machinery and manpower has begun the operation to ensure that the plants are safely transferred and remain viable at their new locations.
According to sources, underpasses are to be constructed at Race Course Chowk, Qabristan Chowk and Charing Cross Chowk.
As part of the signal-free corridor from Kachehri Chowk to Motorway Chowk, Peshawar Road will be closed to traffic next month.
Prior to the start of construction, the relocation of electricity, gas, sewerage and telephone services will be completed.
At present, some of the most expensive and rare trees and plants maintained by the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board along the project site, numbering over 700, are being shifted safely to Bhata Ground, Westridge, Golra Mor and other locations.
Cantonment Executive Officer Amir Rashid has constituted an operational squad under the supervision of Horticulture Officer Atika Nadeem, assigning it the task of relocating all trees, plants and flowers with utmost care to ensure they remain functional and healthy at their new sites.
Plants currently being relocated using cranes, machinery and manpower include Terminalia, Washingtonia, palm, mine, Ashoka, ficus, phoenix, rose, juniper, ribbon grass and other varieties ranging from four to five feet and eight to ten feet in height.
According to Cantonment Board sources, all necessary precautions are being taken during transplantation to ensure the plants remain green and healthy. However, only those plants suitable for relocation in the current weather are being shifted this month, while the remaining plants will be relocated in the first week of February.
The cantonment board has also planned fresh plantation along the central median and roadside of Peshawar Road after the completion of all three underpasses to enhance both the beauty and environmental friendliness of the area.