May 12, 2006	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1427

KARACHI, May 11: SITE Association of Industry (SAI) chairman Ameen Bandukda on Thursday condemned the arrest of Farooq Garib in connection with hazardous waste disposal case in Site area that led to a tragic incident of death of children of the area.

He urged the government not to let the vested interest use the incident to harass the businessmen of the Site area, says a press release of the association.

He said that the business class did not approve of a socially irresponsible behaviour and his association believed that people responsible for the said incident should be identified and dealt with accordingly.

He said that Mr Garib had denied using the chemical that caused burns and maintained that he was framed to cover some influentials. “The arrest has caused a lot of anxiety in the business community,” he added.

Amin stated that the SITE area, the oldest industrial zone in the country, still lacked proper planning of waste disposal. The Environment Act, which was drawn in the late nineties, could not be implemented because the facilities and the designated land fill areas were not provided for.

“There are innumerable places where garbage and waste is dumped in SITE. All such places can catch fire,” he said. A similar incident happened at Abidabad, SITE town where various waste material including saw dust caught fire and some children became victim of it, he added.

He said that the association was willing to pay charges for proper waste disposal if an Incinerator was installed in the SITE area along with an effluent treatment plant.