Mass tree-planting underway in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A total of 3,750 trees have been planted in western Karbala, as part of campaign to plant 15 million trees all over the country, a local official said on Tuesday. “Today, the gardens’ department finished the planting of 3,750 trees as part of the one-million-tree campaign announced by the minister of municipalities and public works,” Haydar Abbas told IraqiNews.com. Earlier this year, the Iraqi Shiite province of Karbala launched a one-year campaign to plant one million trees in an attempt to improve the environment and the quality of life in the province. Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims’ holiest cities. The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq’s wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates. It is made up of two districts, “Old Karbala,” the religious centre, and “New Karbala,” the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings. At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussein’s tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise. On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150. SS (S) 1