Environment Court orders action against tanneries

LHC orders Sheikhupura Environment district officer to take action against leather factories polluting drainage outlet

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday ordered the Sheikhupura Environment district officer to take action against some leather factories polluting a nearby drainage outlet.

Justice Nasir Saeed Shaikh of the LHC issued this order on a petition challenging that the waste disposal system of the East Pakistan Chromes Tanneries was polluting a connecting water channel. The petitioner alleged that the tanneries were situated near the channel and disposed dangerous chemicals in it.

He said that animals of the surrounding areas drank water from it. The water of the channel was also polluting the underground water consequently affecting the residents, he added.

The petitioner said that the largest number of hepatitis cases in Sheikhupura was reported from that area. He asked the court to direct the district officer to stop the tanneries from disposing their waste into the water channel.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2010.