Eid aftereffects: Offal disposal further spoils Ibrahim Hyderi coast

Malir District Council chairperson, LG minister claim to be 'unaware' of situation

KARACHI: One may expect the usual cool breeze after nearing a coastal bay, but the land alongside the coast of Ibrahim Hyderi Goth in District Malir depicts a sorry state of affairs as while travelling towards the bay, one's vision blurs and eyes irritate from the smoke coming from burning garbage piles and a stink ensues that makes it hard to breathe.

For a moment, one can easily forget that they are close to the sea.

The coast of Ibrahim Hyderi continues to receive tons of garbage, with no regard even on the International Coastal Cleanup Day - celebrated worldwide on September 17. In addition to receiving routine garbage, the coast also received its share of offal disposal dumped by the municipal authorities after Eidul Azha.



"Disposal of offal is highly condemnable as it can harm the marine life," said Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum chairperson Muhammad Ali Shah. While describing the history of waste disposal, he said that it has been over 10 years since the Ibrahim Hyderi coast, once a beautiful picnic spot, has been turned into a waste disposal area and during this period the government and environmentalists turned a blind eye to the situation.

"A powerful mafia uses this space for garbage disposal for their benefit, as piles of garbage alongside the coast helps them in reclaiming ocean land," alleged Shah, adding that garbage is dumped towards the sea on which illegal jetties are made by influential people, including the local MPA, who then charge Rs1,000 per month from boat owners.

"This specific area receives ton of waste from the six district municipal corporations of the city and 500 million gallons of untreated sewage is also dumped into the sea," according to Shah.

"Korangi creek is the breeding ground for many marine species and polluting such an area has already decreased the number of fish and other marine life," said University of Karachi's Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology professor Pirzada Jamal, adding that the public was aware of the fact that untreated sewage water, including industrial waste, falls into the sea while authorities have not paid attention to it.



Meanwhile, newly-elected Malir District Council chairperson Salman Abdullah Murad had "no idea" about the offal disposal at the coast. He told The Express Tribune that he is ill and will look into the matter after a few days.

"We have issued several notices to the municipal authorities of District Korangi and Malir but they have not even responded to them," informed Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) director-general Naeem Mughal, who added that Sepa has decided to issue another notice regarding the matter of coastal pollution at Ibrahim Hyderi to the current elected chairperson and vice-chairperson. If the matter is not taken seriously, then Mughal will go to the Sepa tribunal, where a retired judge of the high court will look into the matter.

Local government minister Jam Khan Shoro was also unaware of the situation. He said that there was a proper plan for the disposal of offal and he will find out who, despite the digging of trenches for offal disposal in the city, had dumped animal remains on the coast of Ibrahim Hyderi, assuring that he will look into the matter immediately.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2016.