BANNU, Aug 23: The environment department of the district has failed to check about 25 stone crushing machines functioning in residential areas near Kurram bridge, on the outskirts of Bannu city.

Stone crushing not only pollutes environment, but also poses a serious threat to the lives of the locals as the process creates a lot of voice and dust. Tiny particles of stone gather in the air and affect respiratory system of the people.

At least 14 machines are installed adjacent to houses while five have been fixed near the FC headquarters in Bannu. The remaining six are set up near Surani village side of the Kurram river.

The areas under a potential threat of these crushers are FC lines, Kotka Zabta Khan, Kot Beli, Khishni Kala and other villages along the banks of the Kurram river. People told this correspondent that cases of chest and lungs infection had increased in these localities.

Crushers usually worked from morning till late in the night releasing insoluble dust into the air, they added. Some villagers and the FC authorities registered cases against these stone crushers in courts, but owing to a lengthy procedure and lack of support from the quarters concerned, they have to abandon the cases.

ACTION SOUGHT: The Public Health Engineering Department Workers Union has decided to close the PHE offices after the threats of severe consequences by the son of a local MPA.