Daily Times

Due to negligence of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), peanut baking units in Chaudhary Bazaar, which is the economic hub of the city, is causing air pollution in Rawalpindi.

According to details, Chaudhary Baazar of Rawalpindi is a well known market for bulk supply of peanuts and other dry fruits. There are more than 120 shops in the market supplying peanut and other dry fruits to the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

Peanut baking continues around the clock in the market which causes air pollution in the city. A shadow of black smog remains over the market from morning until night.

Sources informed that vendors use furnace oil for their preparation as fuel is very dangerous for human health.

The shop owners have made baking units inside their setups. This process has been continuing for many years but the EPA never took any action against them.

“I have written to concerned authorities many times to take action against the commercial units which are causing air pollution but never get a positive response from any department. If the authorities take action against these units, the union will support them,” Anjuman-e-Tajiran General Secretary Bilal Khan said while talking exclusively to Daily Times.

When contacted, EPA District Officer Abdul Islam said, “We don’t have any authority to take action against any commercial unit until we receive any written complaint.”

Published in Daily Times, October 15^th 2018.