Looking pretty, smelling sour

The odorous aftermath of Cyclone Phet continues to linger along Karachi’s coastline, particularly at Seaview, where the stench produced by dead marine life has yet to leave the area.

Despite efforts to clean them, thousands of shells continue to amass at Seaview every day, resulting in a stench that has residents worried as to when there will be respite. Environmentalists say that the high waves of the monsoon season have started to awash the shoreline with shells since Cyclone Phet barely missed the metropolis, adding that this is not the first time that such a phenomenon has been witnessed along the coast of Karachi.

“After the cyclone, these seashells are being washed ashore every day. And they arrive in the millions. From 7 am to 6 pm every day; all of our machinery and labour is being used to clean the beach,” said Noorudin, an employee of Saleh Mohammad and Brothers who is responsible for supervising the beach cleanup project. He said that while the shells are picked up each day, an ever greater amount is accrued at the beach by the time they arrive the next day.

“Sometimes we’re here till 8 or 9 pm,” said Noorudin while explaining what is done with the seashells that have been accumulating at the beach since the day of the Cyclone Phet.

Saleh Mohammad and Brothers have been employed by the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) for the undertaking of the beach cleaning process, said Noorudin, who added that while CBC’s chief inspector Kabir inspects the area sometimes in the mornings, CBC officials have yet to check up on the progress on a regular basis. While the seashells make for a picturesque landscape, Seaview residents find the stench that spreads for miles around too heavy a price to pay for the scenery.

“I hate going back home from work now because it smells so bad,” said Farheen, a resident of DHA Phase VIII. “I miss being able to sit outside in the garden or the balcony.”

“The beach is the one thing us Karachiites have. That too is ruined now,” said Samina, another resident of DHA.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2010.