Thousands of small factories are operating illegally in several localities of the provincial capital without installing treatment plants to avoid contamination of drinking water in the areas.
The authorities concerned, including the environment protection department and the Water and Sanitation Agency, appear helpless to take action against such factories while water pollution has become one of the top problems of Lahore.
Amid lack of action against such factories, the untreated water discharged from them is contaminating groundwater in industrial and residential areas. Water supply to several posh areas of the city has also been affected.
The issue of contaminated water is more serious in areas where factories have been set up illegally.
The contaminated water in factory areas of Lahore contains highly toxic material, including pesticides, oil, detergents and plastic. Due to a shortage of filtration plants, citizens were forced to drink groundwater contaminated with the hazardous substances.
Dilapidated old water supply pipe lines are also a major reason of contaminated water getting mixed with potable water in the affected areas.
The situation is leading to an increase in hepatitis, allergy, stomach diseases and other health problems among citizens
Majority of the population in Lahore is forced to drink contaminated water. Citizens residing near factory areas drink contaminated water and also also use it to prepare food, which is among major causes of hepatitis.
Thousands of factories are established in and outside Lahore, including Shahdara, Ferozepur Road, Sundar, Township, Shadbagh, Walled City, Darogha Wala, Badami Bagh, Kareem Park, Sanda Road, Farukhabad and other areas.
Factories are operating illegally veven in posh areas, including Gulberg, Model Town and Canal Road. There are also a large number of home-based factories that are operating without obtaining no-objection certificate and fulfilling legal requirements.
The factories produce medicines, plastic, glass items, shoes, leather and other products. Their waste water is causing pollution in the areas.
As a result, the water supplied in the areas from reservoirs and underground sources has become hazardous and also developed odour. The health risk increases during rains, causing gastroenteritis and other diseases.
In addition to various authorities, leaders and non-government organisations, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar had also raised the issue of water pollution in the past. He also presented a fact sheet, stating that 82 per cent Pakistanis lacked access to clean water and 24% peoples in Lahore were drinking arsenic contaminated water, posing a threat to their health.
According to the fact sheet, about 1.1 million people die in the country every year because of consuming unsafe water, including 250,000 children.
A health department official said while talking to The Express Tribune that shortage of staff in the environment protection department had made it difficult to crack down on factories lacking water treatment plants in Lahore.
“Pollution has become a very serious issue in Lahore. However, water pollution is most dangerous and especially in factory areas people are drinking poison in the name of water,” said Dr Munawer Sabir, Director Integrated Mountain Research Department, Punjab University”.
According to Dean Institute of Public Health Dr Zarafshan Zafar, there are chances of hepatitis A and E after drinking contaminated water in addition to stomach and throat infections, allergy, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.
Environment Protection Department spokesperson Sajid Bashir said the NOC was not issued to a factory without its own water treatment plant, but local owners were not taking the issue seriously.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2020.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ