Daily Times

Engulfed by thick air pollution mostly caused by an unchecked marble factories, the Warsak Road residents, who were exposed to serious health hazards here Saturday demanded of the KP government to order for its shifting to the Mohmand Marble City.

Cutting large slabs of marble and granite in different sizes to fulfill the customers placed orders, the labourers in most factories work without safety measures, thus exposing themselves to serious ailments including the fatal chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

The air pollution could be seen even with a naked eyes while going from Warsak Road to Michani Mohmand tribal district from where large marble slaps are being transported to these marble factories mostly operating without recycling opratus.

“The air pollution has increased on Warsak Road’s areas due to unplanned marble factories in last few years that needed to be checked by the relevant government departments including Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” said Farhat Ameen, a resident of Warsak Road Peshawar.

She said the unplanned and mushroom growth of marble factories in high populated area of Peshawar had resulted in ecological issues in the vicinity besides causing air, water and land pollution.

The marble liquid waste emanating from these factories have started polluting water channels in the area that is also posing serious threats to aquatic species besides causing environmental and water degradation.

Farhat claimed that milky slush discharged from marble factories drains into water bodies and irrigation channels without treatment.

Marble factories are not only swallowing agricultural lands but effluents discharged from these units without treatment are contaminating the remaining lands and water channels and its shifting should be given top priority,” she said.

“I have established a marble and granite processing unit eight years with an estimated cost of Rs27 million and its shifting and operationalization at Mohmand Marble City would cost additional Rs20 million that was beyond of his financial power,” said a marble factory owner Ali Khan at Warsak Road

Seeking Govt patronage and assistance to promote marable and granite business,

He claimed that inter provincial businessmen were preferring Warsak road factories rather then Mohmand district due to security reasons.

More than 400 marble and granite factories are currently functioning along both sides of Warsak Road. Each factory has capacity to process approximately 20,000 square feet marble per month amid uninterrupted and poor power supply.

“Air pollution mostly caused by marbles and bricklins may leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that could prove fatal,” said senior chest and medical specialist of Govt hospital Pabbi, Dr Riaz Khan.

Hd said COPD is a common lung disease, which restricts airflow by causing severe breathing problems of a patient due to air and household pollution.

The incurable disease first damages patient’s lungs or clogged with phlegm with persistent cough, severe difficulty in breathing, wheezing and tiredness. “COPD is the third leading cause of death in the world that claimed about 3.23 million lives in 2019 globally,” he said, adding approximately 148,512 people died from the killer disease in 2020, making it the sixth overall leading cause of mortality rate behind heart, cancer, COVID-19, accidents, and stroke.

In Pakistan, he said about 138.2 per one lakh males and 41.3 per 100,000 among females die due to COPD and Asthma related diseases. In mild to moderate COPD, most deaths occur due to cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, but as COPD severity increases, respiratory deaths also increase mostly in third world countries including Pakistan.

Kharay Bibi (70), a resident of Pabbi Nowshera district, who was brought in precarious condition at Lady Reading Hospital due to shortness of breath, had lost battle for life after she was diagnosed with COPD.

“My mother was busy at breakfast when she suddenly fell down and became unconscious. We rushed her to Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar where she was diagnosed with 4th stage of COPD and malaria positive that later proved fatal for her life,” said Shageef Bibi, the daughter of the victim while talking to APP.

Battling for life for nearly 15 days at LRH, Kharay Bibi alias Hussan Zadagai spent her last days at different wards including emergency, acute medical unit (AMU) and pulmonary wards unconscious and finally left the mortal world on the fateful day of September 6, 2023.

“The doctors tried to save my mother’s life but the cruel COPD caused by pollution deprived me from beloved mother forever,” she said while tears rolling down her face.

“COPD is not curable but its symptoms could be improved by avoiding smoking, exposure to air pollution and vaccination to prevent such fatal infections through better medication, oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation. If COPD is diagnosed at an early stage, a patient could easily live for 10 to 20 years after diagnosis,” said Dr Riaz.

He said several treatments are available for its patients including inhaling of medicines that open and reduce swelling in airways, adding bronchodilator inhalers was the most important medicine for its treatment as it keeps the airways open for a longer time.

The steroid pills and antibiotics are often used to treat flare-ups while oxygen was mandatory for people who have severe COPD.

He said most people linked COPD with asthma and used wrong medicines that complicated treatment of the former at a later stage.

“The estimated prevalence of COPD and asthma mostly caused by toxic air are about 2.1% and 4.3% respectively in third world countries including Pakistan,” Dr Riaz said, adding existing care at public health facilities at tehsil and districts level needs to be improved both in coverage and quality for facilitation of patients.

He said nearly 90% of COPD deaths in those under 70 years of age occur in low- and middle income countries due to unhealthy lifestyle and air pollution.

Tobacco smoking accounts for over 70% of cases in high income countries while in lower middle income countries tobacco smoking contributes for 30 to 40% of cases where household air pollution is a major risk factor.

The experts underscored the need to check the overall condition of marble factories, health of vehicles plying on roads, and demanded a ban on smoke emitting transport in big cities like Peshawar to eradicate ENT, Chest and COPD.

Similarly, brick kilns operating in the surrounding of Peshawar and stone crushing marble factories on Warsak Road should be shifted to Mohmand Marble City.