Coastal beauty destroyed by garbage
In any seaside town, the beach is the primary spot offering a serene recreational space for people to spend lazy days and enjoy lively evenings. Yet when institutional neglect and a lack of public awareness turn coastal spots into dumping sites, families hoping to stroll at the shore end up tiptoeing around a beach of garbage.
While a solid waste collection system exists within the Cantonment Board's limits at Clifton Beach, cleaning is not carried out on a regular basis. In municipal areas, however, there is virtually no cleaning mechanism in place. As a result, much of Karachi's coastline remains neglected.
Karachi has an approximately 75-kilometre-long coastline, where land control is divided among federal and provincial authorities, municipal bodies, cantonment boards and private entities. Major picnic spots along this stretch include Clifton Beach (Sea View), Hawksbay, Sands Pit, Turtle Beach, Sunehri Beach and French Beach.
Marine pollution has quietly become one of Karachi's most entrenched urban problems, drawing repeated concern in local media but little sustained response on the ground. Despite having Pakistan's longest urban coastline and serving as the country's main port city, Karachi continues to release large volumes of untreated sewage, industrial waste and solid refuse into the Arabian Sea on a daily basis.
A Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the land along the coastline was controlled by multiple entities, including the Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim, the provincial Revenue Department, Karachi Fish Harbour, DHA, Clifton Cantonment Board, Manora Cantonment Board, KMC, Karachi Development Authority, Lyari Development Authority, Maripur Town Municipal Authority and other public and private institutions.
"Parts of Clifton Beach fall under the jurisdiction of the Clifton Cantonment Board (CBC), where a cleaning system exists, while areas under KMC have no formal sanitation arrangements," said the official. Conversely, a CBC spokesperson noted that Clifton Beach and Sea View within cantonment limits were cleaned daily, and dustbins had been installed for visitors' convenience.
Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) Managing Director Tariq Nizamani claimed that the board was responsible for sanitation in residential areas along the coast that fell under municipal limits, but not for picnic points such as Clifton Beach. "However, if we are formally approached, we can initiate cleaning there as well," he said, adding that the board currently managed sanitation in coastal settlements including Lala Bhakar, Baba Bhit, Shamspir, Keamari and Ibrahim Hyderi.
Maripur Town UC-2 Lala Bhakar Chairman Mubarak Sindho Baloch asserted that the SSWMB provided sanitation services in residential areas of his union council, but picnic spots such as Hawksbay, Paradise Point and French Beach were left unattended. "Occasionally, NGOs or students clean these areas, otherwise the waste is eventually carried back into the sea by waves," he said.
Environmental groups have warned against the growing volume of plastic pollution along the coast. Discarded fishing nets, packaging material and single-use plastics now dominate beach waste, while scientific studies referenced in the media have detected microplastics in coastal sand and marine species. These findings have fuelled concerns about long-term ecological damage and potential health risks for communities dependent on seafood.
WWF adviser Moazzam Khan revealed that garbage accumulation at Clifton Beach was driven by two major factors. "Large quantities of solid waste are carried into the sea through stormwater drains and nullahs, while domestic sewage and industrial effluent have been discharged untreated into the sea for decades," he told The Express Tribune, further adding that litter left behind by visitors also contributed to coastal pollution.
Khan referred to Cyclone Biparjoy, which developed in the Arabian Sea and made landfall between Mandvi in India's Gujarat and near Jakhau Port close to Pakistan's Keti Bandar on June 15, 2023. Although the cyclone did not directly hit Karachi, it passed around 120 kilometres southeast of the city, triggering strong tidal activity. This caused severe waves along Karachi's coast, flooding low-lying areas and disturbing the seabed, which brought long-submerged garbage onto the shoreline.
"Clifton was the worst-affected area, where massive amounts of waste surfaced and spread across the beach, creating foul odours," noted Khan, who explained that Clifton Beach faced the Arabian Sea and lied between two rivers on the eastern side and the South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPT) on the western side.
To analyse the composition of the waste deposited after the cyclone, samples were collected from a 10×10 square metre area. The analysis revealed that 43 per cent of the waste consisted of polyurethane material commonly used in boats. Polystyrene (Styrofoam), widely used for packaging, accounted for 27 per cent. Other materials included abandoned fishing nets (6 per cent), plastic bags (5 per cent), baskets (4 per cent), plastic bottles (4 per cent) and wires/cables (3 per cent), while the remaining 8 per cent comprised mixed household and unidentifiable items.
Overall, more than 75 per cent of the waste was plastic. The analysis suggested that the waste had been present in the sea for a long time and was pushed ashore by tidal activity. Its composition indicated that most of it did not originate locally from Clifton but was largely linked to the fishing industry. Khan noted that such waste typically accumulates around Karachi Fish Harbour, located approximately 12 kilometres west of Clifton.
During high tides, monsoon rains and cyclonic activity, this waste is frequently pushed back onto the shoreline, contaminating popular recreational areas. Apart from plastic debris, beachgoers at Sea View and other coastal points regularly encounter wine bottles, shards of glass, pieces of cloth, footwear, cigarettes, cutlery, leftover food, charcoal and barbeque waste, and foul-smelling sludge, a problem documented repeatedly in local newspapers and television reports.
Environmental expert Hina Moin revealed that her team had conducted multiple visits and research studies at Clifton Beach over different periods. "Tourists frequently dump plastic and other waste on the beach, while untreated domestic and industrial effluent enters the sea through nullahs. This not only harms marine life but also severely pollutes the coastline. Research stations were established between Bilawal House and Do Darya, where sand samples were collected using quadrate sampling methods," noted Moin.
"From just one gram of sand at each station, we found between 25 and 3,000 microplastic particles," said Moin, noting that the highest concentration was found at Do Darya due to waste from nearby restaurants entering the sea. "Following the 2023 cyclone, researchers found blood clams along the Clifton shore. Examination of the dead organisms inside revealed microplastic contamination, further highlighting the scale of marine pollution," added Moin.
A survey conducted by The Express Tribune found that the primary source of coastal pollution was untreated domestic sewage and industrial waste discharged through the Lyari and Malir rivers and stormwater drains. Large quantities of household solid waste were also dumped into these drains as they passed through densely populated areas, eventually reaching the sea and polluting beaches such as Clifton. Citizens visiting beaches for recreation often left behind plastic bottles, shopping bags and other waste due to a lack of civic responsibility.
Regional planner Dr Syed Nawaz Al-Huda too felt that Karachi's coastline was severely polluted. "In recent years, civil society groups, universities and NGOs have organised beach-cleaning campaigns, including at Phase 8 and Sea View. During these drives, volunteers collected several tonnes of waste, including plastic, Styrofoam, hospital waste and discarded clothing, within a few hours, which was later disposed of by the Clifton Cantonment Board," noted Dr Al-Huda.
What further complicates beach cleaning is weak oversight and a lack of coordination. Control of Karachi's coastline is divided among multiple federal, provincial, and municipal bodies, creating gaps in accountability. While civil society and student-led cleanup campaigns have periodically drawn attention to the crisis, experts warn that without consistent institutional action, Karachi's coastline will continue to absorb the consequences of unchecked urban waste and environmental neglect.
"Cantonment boards and municipal authorities must establish an effective and regular cleaning system, particularly at Clifton Beach, to ensure that civic groups are not forced to repeatedly step in and that Karachi's coastline remains clean," implored Dr Al-Huda.