Air pollution has also become a major problem in most of the cities
KARACHI: Unfortunately, our country is facing lots of problems but one of the major basic issues is that of pollution. The fact is that environmental concerns in Pakistan disturb the balance between economic development and protection of the environment.
The national conservation report has documented how the dumping of solid and liquid waste is the major cause of water pollution which, in turn, gives rise to myriad kinds of waterborne diseases. Pakistan has three major sewage treatment plants, and unfortunately, two of them operate intermittently. Much of the untreated sewage is transferred into the irrigation system, and wastewater repeatedly makes it into streams and rivers, which have now literally been converted into sewage carriers. As a result, the vegetables grown by using this wastewater are infested with a plethora of toxic microorganisms.
Air pollution has also become a major problem in most of the cities, with no measures taken against vehicular emissions. According to the national conservation strategy report, the average Pakistani vehicle emits twenty five times as much carbon monoxide, twenty times as many hydrocarbons and more than three and half times as much nitrousoxide as the average vehicle in the United States.
Another major source of pollution which is not mentioned in strategy reports is noise. The hyper-urbanisation experienced by Pakistan since the 1960s has resulted in lax control for heavy equipment operation in the densely populated areas, as well as in crowed streets, chock-full with buses, trucks, cars and motorcycles. I hope the government of Pakistan realises the grave issue and takes action to curb it.
Sunder Lohana
Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2016.
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