Hattar residents protest pollution from factory

Protesters say people falling sick due to release of contaminated water

HARIPUR:

Residents of Hattar staged took to the streets against the outbreak of illnesses due to pollution and the release of wastewater from a private cement factory. The protesters gathered outside the factory gate to lodge a strong protest and chanted slogans against the anti-people policies of the factory management.

A protest rally was also taken out from the residents of the Union Council Hattar whose participants were holding placards in their hands with slogans mentioned against the factory administration.

The rally was led by Sajjad Hussain Shah, Kisan Councillor, Imran Ali Shah and Syed Zaheer Shah. The protesters also submitted a four-point application in the office of the Bestway Cement factory on blockage of canal water, discharge of chemically contaminated water in the sewage line, use of union council road and quota for unemployed locals.

The protesters claimed that the objective of their protest against the factory management was that “every second person of our area is falling prey to asthma and allergy and the ‘gift’ of dengue virus is being given to people of Hattar free of cost”.

“The chemical and sewage water have left the lands of Hattar residents barren. The chemical-contaminated water is causing dangerous diseases,” they said.

During the protest, scores of citizens adopted the stance that the factory administration was not taking notice of the problems faced by them. “There is an immediate need for a treatment plant for the contaminated water,” they said.

“We will hold a massive protest if factory management fails to accept our demands,” they added.

On the other hand, the management of the Bestway Cement factory said, any decision regarding the demands of the protesters can only be taken after getting approval from the head office.

The protesters, however, said that they have held several protests against the cement factory by blocking roads but the issues persist.

Umar Farooq, a local social worker, told this scribe that the residents of the area held protests in the past also against the release of contaminated water and pollution which is becoming a torment for people of the area.

He said that the performance of the environment protection agency was extremely poor and the factories are not being made to control pollution. The Bestway Cement factory must stop polluting the air and water, he added.

Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah, a political elder of the area, told The Express Tribune that people were protesting against the pollution because they wanted to protect their children from dangerous diseases.

“Air pollution and contaminated water making every other person of Hattar a patient of asthma and allergy and most of them are admitted in the hospitals,” he said, adding that the infertility of the agricultural lands is also reducing their prices.

Shah demanded also demanded the installation of a water treatment plant on an urgent basis. He demanded immediate implementation of the four demands of the local people, otherwise “we will be forced to protest strongly and management of the Bestway Cement factory will be responsible for everything.”

When contacted, the factory management said: “We received a four-point formula from the protesters and assured them that their demands will be accepted. We will inform our head office regarding the whole situation. We hope that the issues will be settled soon. We are trying to provide all facilities to the residents of the locality.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2022.