Daily Times

Sir: Karachi dumps some 417 million gallons of raw and disease-laden sewage into seawaters. This includes both industrial as well as domestic effluents, an amount enough to fill 550 Olympic size swimming pools. Of the 472 million gallons of sewage produced by the city every day, just about 55 million gallons receive some form of treatment. The three sewage treatment plants shamefully operate at one third of their capacity. As if this sewage dumping were not adequately catastrophic, the city also dumps 8,000 tonnes of solid waste into the harbour. The sewage is dumped into the sea at numerous locations. This activity is carried out in full view of the concerned government departments.

Some 95 percent of industries in the province do not comply with the legal limits imposed by National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS). The Environmental Protection Agency chooses not to proceed against these organisations. It is thus a party to this crime against the environment and aquatic life.

We demand that: a) dumping of untreated sewage into the ocean be immediately halted, b) the NEQS be vigorously implemented for all industrial and municipal effluents and emissions. The violating industries should be heavily fined or closed down, c) the three sewage treatment plants be made to run at their full capacity and more plants established to undertake complete treatment of the full load of effluent. The treated water must be reused for alternate applications such as plantation, parks and agriculture, d) it must be ensured that no municipal or industrial effluent is discharged in any drain, nullah, ground, lake or water body except the channel approved by the government, and e) the dumping of 8,000 tonnes of solid waste into harbour water be stopped forthwith and arrangements be made for sending all solid waste to approved landfills.

NAEEM SADIQ

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