The Karachi Port Trust Keamari coal terminal is operating in violation of environmental law and poses health threats
KARACHI: The Karachi Port Trust Keamari coal terminal is operating in violation of environmental law and poses serious threats to public health. Enveloped in dark dust, the entire place and nearby places are all blackened; there are blackened streets, shops, mosques, historical buildings and other infrastructure as a testimony to how pollution has ruined the areas near the port. It is not just the residents of Keamari who have been affected. People living on nearby islands also inhale the polluted air and fall ill when the wind starts blowing towards their towns. The transport of coal has seriously affected the lives and livelihood of people living in the vicinity. Trucks and dumpers are filled to the brim with the coal. They don’t even cover the coal and it spills over on the roads while it is being transported from one place to another.
A number of diseases originate from coal mining. The number of people suffering from respiratory disease in the locality has increased over the past 10 to 12 years, which is when the coal terminal began its operations. The coal dust added a range of health problems including respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Fine particles penetrate deeply into the lungs and over time, these particles accumulate and cause further damage. The residents of the area have protested several times over the operation of the coal terminal and have demanded that it should be moved to another location. They have not had any luck so far. I urge and plead the authorities to solve this issue.
Waseem Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2016.
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