Smoke emission from steel mills irks Bara residents

BARA: The residents here on Sunday asked the authorities concerned to resolve the issue of poisonous smoke emission from steel mills and factories in residential areas of Bara tehsil in Khyber tribal district.

They complained that several illegal factories had been established in Karigar Garhi, Kalanga, Alamgudar, Malik Garhi, and other areas.

Talking to The News, an elder Saeedullah Afridi said that influential people had established dozens of steel mills and factories in residential areas which emitted poisonous smoke.

He said that several steel mills including factories, marble, mobile and others emitted smoke that troubled the people.

Saeedullah maintained that the raw materials of steel mills and marbles were also being thrown on roadsides and streets. "We had shifted to Hayatabad due to militancy, but now we cannot return to Bara due to poisonous smoke emitting from the steel mills and factories," he said

Another resident, Shah Nawaz Afridi, told this scribe that local people had been facing difficulties due to the factories surrounding Bara Bazaar.

"I am ready to vacate the house in Karigar Garhi and shift to another place due to poisonous smoke and smell of factories," he said.

He said that many residents had sold properties and shifted to Peshawar and other areas.

The resident added that schoolchildren and daily-wagers left homes without breakfast due to heavy smoke in the morning.

“Our area has been facing a host of problems including the illegally established factories,” another resident, Islam Badshah Afridi, said.

He said many people were suffering from chest, stomach and other diseases.

“The factories’ owners should install chimneys in the factory for releasing smoke and gas but there is no chimney for controlling the smoke which spreads to the residential areas,” he maintained.

He said the Khyber administration and other responsible officials had no check and balance on the factories in Bara while the people, particularly women are suffering inside homes.

The residents of Alamgudar, Karigar Garhi, Malik Garhi, Zulfiqar Garhi and Kalanga areas asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and other responsible high-ups to order shifting the factories from residential area.