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Grassroots official’s 30-year fight against desertification in North China_我的网站

一 |     Islamabad, Oct 9 (UNI) A fire broke out in the food court of a popular shopping mall in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday, media reports said.

The fire has been brought under control and the cooling process has been initiated after videos on social media platforms showed smoke emitting out of the building, according to Geo news.

In a statement, Islamabad Police said that people were rescued and safely evacuated from the backdoor of the mall — which was engulfed in smoke after the fire.

The search operation is still underway, and no person or shop has been harmed, the police said, adding that the fire inside the mall has been doused out and a helicopter has also been called in.

"However, the fire has not been completely extinguished on the outside of the mall," the police said, requesting the citizens to avoid travelling near the mall to ensure that rescue teams could do their work uninterrupted.

To oversee the situation, Inspector-General Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, senior police officials, and district administration representatives reached the mall, located in F-8.

Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) capt (retd) Mohammed Usman Younas is also at the site and overseeing rescue and firefighting operations.

All resources are being utilised to control the fire as early as possible, the CDA added.

The Islamabad Police later said that the building, under the orders of the deputy commissioner, would be sealed once the rescue operation was completed.

It added that the mall's building would remain sealed until a probe into the matter has been carried out. Until then, entry into the building would remain prohibited to the public.

In a separate statement, the police said that due to the fire, diversions have been placed for traffic from F-8 Exchange Chowk to Khyaban Chowk at Jinnah Avenue.

In his tweet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he was saddened by the incident and directed all authorities to ensure that the situation was brought under control at the earliest.

Taking notice of the incident, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah asked authorities to use everything at their disposal to ensure that the situation is under control.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz prayed for the situation to get better.

UNI GNK。    

    Wensuyalatu checks the growth of sour jujube seedlings. Photos: Chinanews.comAcross the vast desert landscape of the Urad Rear Banner in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, one grassroots official has spent more than three decades turning barren sands into patches of green.
Ecological restoration
For over 30 years, Wensuyalatu, a member of the leadership group of the Urad Rear Banner forestry and grassland bureau, has made the Gobi Desert his workplace, dedicating his life to combating desertification, advancing ecological restoration through technological innovation, and helping local herders increase their incomes, according to the local bureau's official WeChat account.
Located on the edge of the desert in Bayannur's Urad Rear Banner, it is a key area in China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, a major ecological project aimed at strengthening the country's northern ecological security barrier. 
However, early afforestation efforts in the desert were far from easy at the start.
The project covers 103,800 mu (about 6,920 hectares), including comprehensive treatment of 24,500 mu of desertified land, ecological restoration of 4,100 mu of non-desertified land, and 75,200 mu of enclosed grassland restoration. The project also includes the construction of 11 small-scale water conservation facilities, all of which required strict standards and extensive coordination.
The project also includes the construction of 11 small-scale water conservation facilities, all of which required strict standards and extensive coordination.
In 1991, Wensuyalatu, then in his early 20s, chose to devote himself to forestry and grassland conservation in the Urad Rear Banner. Since then, he has remained on the front lines of desertification control, witnessing the region's harshest environmental challenges and working to find solutions adapted to the fragile desert ecosystem.
In the early years, afforestation in the Gobi Desert was an extremely difficult task. The most critical planting season in spring often coincided with the strongest sandstorms of the year. Every year during the key afforestation period, Wensuyalatu would stay deep in the desert, guiding workers on planting techniques and management practices, while carefully overseeing every detail of the ecological restoration projects.
"Every spring, the wind and blown sand were so strong that it was hard to keep your eyes open. The sand hit your face like needles. During the day, we followed workers to dig holes and plant trees, and at night we stayed in temporary shelters to organize data and review the day's work. That was the normal routine for desertification fighters," Wensuyalatu recalled.
The road to restoring the desert was far from easy. Years of drought, low survival rates of seedlings, and skepticism from some local residents created major obstacles.
"At the beginning, it was really difficult. The climate was extremely dry, and many seedlings died after being planted. Some herders did not understand or support the work. They believed deserts were naturally barren and that no amount of effort could make trees grow there," Wensuyalatu said.
To change these perceptions, Wensuyalatu brought local residents to see firsthand the damage caused by desert expansion. Through visible results and long-term communication, he gradually won the understanding and support of the community.
Facing the ecological challenges of the Urad Rear Banner, Wensuyalatu began exploring new approaches beyond traditional restoration methods.
    Staff members get ready to carry out aerial seeding operations.Aerial seeding
Since 2004, he has led efforts to tackle desert restoration challenges by introducing large-scale aerial seeding projects, creating a breakthrough approach for restoring degraded desert ecosystems in the region.
"Compared with traditional methods, aerial seeding is more efficient and can cover wider areas. Based on local climate and soil conditions, we select suitable desert plant seeds and precisely control the seeding height, density and timing to improve survival rates as much as possible and accelerate desert recovery," Wensuyalatu explained.
After years of effort, the aerial seeding projects under Wensuyalatu's leadership have restored more than 800,000 mu of desert land, with an effective restoration rate of 62.2 percent. 
He also developed an integrated management approach combining "protection, management, retreat, restoration and publicity," establishing a mixed vegetation system of trees, shrubs and grass to curb desert expansion and reduce sandstorms at their source.
Beyond restoring greenery, Wensuyalatu has also focused on strengthening scientific research and protecting native desert species.
Starting in 2010, he devoted himself to the artificial cultivation of endangered native desert plants. After more than a decade of repeated experiments, he successfully developed cultivation techniques for rare species such as the endangered evergreen broadleaf shrub Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, Mongolian almond and drought-resistant elm.
Under his leadership, his team cultivated 6.5 million seedlings and completed more than 4,000 mu of high-quality afforestation projects, with seedling survival rates consistently exceeding 80 percent. 
    Engineering personnel operate drones to conduct aerial seeding as part of afforestation efforts in the Badain Jaran Desert in North China on June 17, 2025. Photo: VCGHis achievements filled a technological gap in large-scale cultivation of native desert plants and earned him second prize in the 2017 Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Harvest Award.
For Wensuyalatu, desert restoration is not only about creating ecological benefits, but also about improving people's livelihoods.
He has long promoted the idea that "trees should bring both ecological value and economic value." By leveraging local desert resources, he helped establish a 10,000-mu industrial base for desert plants and cistanche - a medicinal plant often grown in desert environments - across four key local villages, integrating ecological restoration with specialty desert industries.
"In the past, people thought desertification control was simply about planting trees - it took a lot of efforts but brought little income. Now things are different. By planting trees and developing industries such as cistanche cultivation, desert land can generate real wealth," a local herder said.
To ensure that local communities benefit from ecological development, Wensuyalatu introduced enterprises, supported family forest farms and professional cooperatives, and promoted large-scale, market-oriented operations.
The once barren desert has gradually become a "green treasure chest" for local herders, achieving a win-win outcome: greener landscapes, improved ecosystems, stronger businesses and higher incomes.
"Desertification control is not just an ecological project, but also a project that benefits people," Wensuyalatu said. 
"Only when communities gain real benefits from protecting nature will they actively participate in ecological conservation. That is the key to making restoration efforts sustainable and achieving the vision that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," Wensuyalatu said. 
Global Times
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