KARACHI, Dec 8: Countless graves in the centuries-old Morro graveyard, located in Shershah section of SITE area, have vanished in man-made flooding that swept through its major portion recently.

The spillage from the drain, meant for the disposal of stagnant water into the Lyari River, played havoc with the graveyard when industrial waste, being discharged constantly for years into the drain, went beyond its capacity and choked it at a section within the graveyard.

It may be mentioned here that quite a large number of industrial units surrounding the graveyard have been established illegally and almost all of them dispose of their waste into the drain.

People living in the neighbourhood of the graveyard recalled that a similar eventuality had submerged a lot of graves about one year back and the authorities had promised to take preventive measures in this regard. However, they regretted, neither the government officials nor the Site administration took any serious step in the following months which resulted in even more serious situation.

They indicated that not only the old factory-owners continued to dispose of the industrial waste into the drain, but they were joined in also by the new ones who have raised their illegal industrial units in the area. The people blamed negligence, on the part of the Site administration, which has given a go ahead to the mushroom growth of the illegal industrial units as well as their unlawful and unethical practice of disposing of hazardous waste into the drain.

Moaning the destruction of the graves of their loved ones, many visitors pointed out that the stagnant water had blocked access to the graves but also helped unwanted bushes grow all over the affected area. “The situation has baffled us to the extent that we are not able to even trace out graves of our dead kin,” one of the groups visiting the graveyard lamented.

People living in the nearby localities pointed out that the drain had, in fact, stopped serving the purpose, for which it had been developed, many years back. The reason, they added, was that a proper cleaning had never been carried out by the relevant authorities.

They said that they had repeatedly drawn the attention of the authorities to this situation but to no avail.

They revealed that professional land-grabbers were out to raise illegal structures within the graveyard for onward sale to small factory-owners. This illegal business had been continuing unabetted for years, they added. So much so, they regretted, some of the factories had been built over graves.

They urged the Sindh governor and chief secretary to take immediate measures for the protection of this ancient graveyard and direct the relevant department as well as the Site administration to discharge their legal obligation in this regard. They also called for the arrangement of water and power facilities for the graveyard.