Water Treatment Plants: 230 factories issued notices

LAHORE: The Environment Protection Department (EPD) issued notices to 230 factories which had failed to set up waste water treatment plants and continued to dump hazardous waste into the Hadiara Drain. The factory owners protested, saying that the cost of setting up and operating water treatment plants were too high and government should set up those plants. The EPD officials said that factory owners were required by law to treat the water before letting it flow into the drain. However, they said, most factory did not have a functional water treatment plant. They said that measures will be taken to ensure treatment of contaminated water as the Hadyara Drain falls into the Ravi River whose water is used for irrigation as well as personal use.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2011.