Khadim Hussain is a well-known social activist who has been working tirelessly in various fields for the past 64 years. However, in recent years, he has shifted his focus to a particular cause—revitalizing a barren area by planting trees and caring for the environment. Every single day, without fail, he travels from the city to this place to water the trees. It has become a part of his daily routine, a mission that he pursues with dedication.

Now in his retirement, Khadim Hussain has a long and distinguished career behind him, having served as a school teacher. Even after retirement, he continues to visit the same school as a volunteer, educating young children. For the past 13 years, he has been diligently taking care of these trees, ensuring they receive the water they need to survive.

According to Khadim Hussain, he visits this area and waters the trees every single day of the year—365 days without fail. He highlights the alarming fact that the groundwater in Quetta has receded to a depth of over 1200 feet. Tube wells have sprung up everywhere, with people extracting and wasting more water than they actually need. Khadim stresses that wasting water is considered a sin in all religions, and yet, many people seem oblivious to the consequences of their actions.

A few years ago, Khadim Hussain, along with a group of like-minded individuals, constructed a symbolic dam. The aim was to draw the government’s attention to the importance of building more dams to conserve water. As they built the dam, passersby would ask what they were doing, an indication that people were becoming more aware of the message they were trying to convey.

Khadim Hussain firmly believes that the government needs to be questioned on why small dams are not being built. These small dams could help in capturing and storing rainwater, preventing it from being wasted, and at the same time, replenishing underground water reservoirs.

Today, the water level has dropped so much that trees require daily watering to survive. In the past, trees could draw water naturally from the ground, but this is no longer possible due to the severe water scarcity. As a result, many trees are drying up because their needs are no longer being met.

Environmental changes have further exacerbated the situation. For several years now, Quetta has not received the amount of rain it once did, and whatever little rain does fall is insufficient to make any real difference. In the past, homes were surrounded by trees, and there was ample snowfall and rainfall. But in today’s times, concrete buildings have taken over, and the once-abundant trees have been cut down.

Khadim Hussain, expressing his concern, warns that if the current situation persists, this area will no longer be habitable within the next seven or eight years. People will be forced to leave and migrate to other places.

In his appeal to the public, he urges people to plant a tree instead of blowing out candles on birthdays or celebrating other occasions. Trees are essential for our environment. He emphasizes that a single tree can provide enough oxygen for 18 people every year.

Khadim Hussain draws an important comparison, saying that just as the Amazon rainforest is considered the lungs of the Earth, supplying 30% of the world’s oxygen, we too must preserve our forests. Instead of cutting down trees, we should plant two trees for every one that is felled.