No more pollution in Hattar, warns EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that practical steps are being taken to eliminate pollution in Hattar Industrial Estate, and all industrialists are being made bound to adopt measures to curb air and water pollution. Deputy Director Wajid Khan said the EPA would soon start operations of its site office in Hattar, which would further enhance staff efficiency.

He said cases against poultry feed factories are pending in court, and efforts are underway to ensure compliance with environmental laws. He added that no one in Hattar or the Hazara region would be allowed to cause air or water pollution, and the department is taking practical actions in this regard.

He expressed these views while addressing a public hearing at Nomi Steel and SMJ International.

On the occasion, Chairman Hattar Industrialists Association Malik Muhammad Ashiq, Haji Attaur Rehman, Iftikhar Ahmed of SMJ, and Sardar Jawad of Nomi Steel also spoke. They said that despite difficult circumstances, factories and industries are operating while ensuring compliance with all rules and regulations.

SMJ's Iftikhar Ahmed said that employees are being provided EOBI, social security, monthly bonuses, and other increments, and that the priority is to provide employment to local people.

He said their mission is dignified employment so that local households in Haripur can sustain themselves through respectable livelihoods.

Local residents informed the participants that thousands of industrial workers and employees from Kot Najibullah, Kangra Colony, and surrounding areas travel daily to Hattar Industrial Estate for work, but due to the lack of quality local public transport on this important route, they face severe difficulties.

Not only industrial workers but also ordinary citizens travelling on this road suffer daily due to inadequate transport facilities.

They said the route directly connects to Taxila, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad, and questioned why, when modern and environment-friendly electric bus services can be provided in Punjab's cities, the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—despite being adjacent to Rawalpindi and Islamabad—are deprived of this basic facility. In this context, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was urged to strongly demand from the Punjab government the launch of an electric bus service from Haripur to Taxila via Hattar, so that the public can access dignified, safe, and affordable transport.

They said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have equal rights to basic facilities as citizens of other provinces, and such a service would benefit labourers, salaried employees, and students alike.