This will also save precious water that is wasted on draining the animal waste
MIRPURKHAS: The cattle colony in Karachi was established in 1958 with 15,000 animals. This is Asia’s largest cattle colony and has expanded to 6.5 square kilometres with 400,000 animals producing four million litres of milk and creating 7,200 tonnes of manure a day. The majority of the animals — usually buffaloes — are kept only for one lactation phase. Some 12 per cent of animals are replaced every month and the remaining are sold to breeders and butchers. The colony meets 70 per cent of milk and half of the beef demand of Karachi’s population and provides livelihood to a large number of farm workers but due to negligence, the human population and the surrounding environment face daunting problems of waste disposal and environmental degradation.
Out of a total of 3,500 tons of animal dung a day, 3,250 tons of this waste falls on concrete floors and 250 tons are dropped on soft ground — to be picked up by truckers later on for use as fertiliser. The fallen dung on concrete floors is drained into the Arabian Sea through seven main drains using 50,000 tons of groundwater and freshwater a day. Besides wastage of a huge quantity of freshwater, this has repercussions for marine life. The dung left on the soft ground produces an unbearable stench and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests. When it dries up and until picked by truckers, it spreads through the air and causes a host of other problems.
One way to dispose of the waste would be to harness it for bio-gas, which would reduce health risks and meet fuel costs for people, making it almost free of cost. This will also save precious water that is wasted on draining the animal waste.
Jan Muhammad Samoon
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2016.
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