‘2,200 industrial units polluting Lyari River’

Treatment plant set up in New Karachi 20 years ago

now out of order, judicial commission told

Untreated effluent of 2,200 units of North Karachi’s industrial zone is being dumped into the Lyari River, a judicial commission was told on Thursday.

Mirza Mohammad Husnain, secretary general of the North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry, appeared before the judicial body investigating into non-provision of potable water, sanitation and healthy environment to the people of Sindh.

Husnain told the commission that the ZM Corporation had signed a contract to dispose of garbage produced by 2,200 industrial units of different types, but all the industrial waste was being discharged into the Lyari River without treatment.

He said a treatment plant was set up in New Karachi’s Gabol Town around two decades ago, but it had stopped functioning.

Rehan Zeeshan, CEO of Federal B Area Association of Trade & Industry, told the judicial body that 300 industrial units under their jurisdiction had hired a private contractor for disposing of garbage.

He admitted that there was no treatment plant for handling effluent or waste produced by the industrial units, but claimed that apart from a few units no one else was dumping toxic or otherwise hazardous effluent into the river.

Waqar Hussain Phulpoto, director (technical) of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), informed the commission that the industries had been divided into three categories.

“Category ‘A’ includes industries producing severely hazardous effluent, for which a treatment plant is necessary. Category ‘B’ includes industries producing effluent relevantly less hazardous than that of the Category ‘A’ units, but these industries also require a treatment plant. Category ‘C’ includes mainly dry units that either do not produce hazardous effluent or produce it within the permissible standard.”

He, however, admitted that no survey had hitherto been conducted to identify the units falling into the above-mentioned categories, adding that representatives of the industrial units’ associations had made assurances that they would cooperate with Sepa in the survey so that immediate steps could be taken to address the issue of discharging untreated industrial effluent into the sea.

The judicial commission directed Sepa to conduct a survey to identify industrial units dumping hazardous effluent into the sea, and submit a report within the next four weeks.

Headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, the commission also summoned the DIG, the SSP and the commissioner of the West Zone in court along with records of action being taken against the encroachment near the Manghopir filter plant.

Karachi Water & Sewerage Board staff at the Manghopir filter plant informed the body about the illegal sand excavation and encroachment in the area, expressing fear that it was a major threat to the plant’s infrastructure that could cave in.

Justice Kalhoro also inspected the drains of Korangi and Defence areas, from where effluent was being discharged into the sea.

The judicial body also issued show-cause notices to presidents of the Landhi Association of Trade & Industry and the Korangi Association of Trade & Industry for not appearing before the court despite being served with notices, and directed both of them to appear on January 13.