KARACHI: Industrialisation ruining life in villages around city
By Latif Baloch
KARACHI, Nov 10: Scores of villages falling in the jurisdictions of Malir, Gadap and Bin Qasim towns have been facing, what local residents fear, an environmental disaster owing to the industrialisation of the originally and officially agricultural terrain. Many of these hundreds of industrial units sprung up over a couple of decades appeared to be illegal and oblivious of environmental laws and public health rules.
Until recently called the rural areas of Karachi, these villages are inhabited by a big population with farming being their livelihood. Prior to the mushroom growth of Industrial units in these areas, the villages formed a lush green belt covering a vast and wide border of the city and served as picnic spots for the urban population.
The villages exposed to environmental degradation and their population to all sorts of health hazards include Kohi
Goth, Shafi Goth, Rehmat Bagh Goth, Haji Pir Goth, Achanak Para, Nazar Mohammad Goth, Saleh Mohammad Goth, Umar Bagh, Saeedabad, Piro Nawab Goth, Gharibabad, Baitullah Bagh, Mulla Moosa Goth, Wali Goth, Faqir Mohammad Goth, Juma Kando Goth, Punshumbe Goth, Sheedi Khan Goth, Lohani Goth, Moosa Jokhio Goth, Pir Sirandi Goth and Lashari Goth.
The first raiders
The fertile lands of the beleaguered villages were first stricken by the suppliers of earth known commonly as the “reti-bajri mafia”. For many years, operators of trucks used to take away hundreds of tons of earth from these villages every day for sale to builders and developers. They left much of these lands barren and deprived the poor farmers of their only livelihood. The menace of widespread excavation by these earth traders was curbed to some extent when the starving farmers, with the help of local political leaders, made it a case through an extensive campaign for their right to live.
However, the villagers are still faced with rapid industrialisation which has now become a major problem, posing a serious threat to the environment and public health in the entire agricultural belt. “Ironically, most of the industrial units in the rural pockets of the city have been established without any planning or permission from a competent authority,” said an educated villager. There is no mention of such industrial units in any master plan which makes one to believe that they are illegal,” he added.
Most of the villagers interviewed by this scribe expressed the view that owners of these industrial units would just buy the lands at a throwaway price and use it for any purpose they want. “Their assault has rapidly turned the fertile agricultural lands into a jungle of industries,: said one of them.
Fallout
Narrating the ultimate outcome of the unplanned industrialisation, the villagers pointed out that mills and factories were being established within the proximity of the residential lanes and the local population was exposed to toxic discharge and air and noise pollution. “There is no concept of privacy and security in any village having a few industrial units,” they added.
They further pointed out that untreated industrial waste and effluents were constantly being discharged into the nearby Sukkun and Malir rivers and the practice was continuing for years unchecked. Coupled with criss-cross water and sewerage lines, the hosepipes discharging effluents elsewhere have created unhygienic conditions all around and polluted the source of potable water, endangering the health of local population, which has a limited access to health care facilities and meagre resources to afford medical treatment.
They said that water, power, sewerage and other basic amenities had been provided to the villages as per the requirement of the local population but these utilities were being shared by hundreds of factory workers without any expansion having been done by the government agencies.
The agricultural lands of Bin Qasim Town, once starting from the Quaidabad locality, have vanished and industrial units could be seen functioning up to several kilometres ahead along the National Highway. The old PIA farms surrounded by lush green fields have also been converted into an industrial zone. More industrial units have been set up around the Karachi Export Processing Zone near Shafi Goth.
A major industrial unit stretched over eight acres and a similar one next to it are in the process of construction. The two units alone have completely surrounded Kohi Goth and Haji Pir Goth.
An industrial unit spread over 10 acres next to Kohi Goth and another one covering 30 acres along Kohi Goth, Achanak Para and Saleh Mohammad Goth have been planned to be set up soon.
The concerned villagers argued that industrialists must be made to seek the required NOC or permission and for the establishment of such units and the relevant government agencies should issue such documents only after ensuring that these establishments did not cause any harm to the local population.
They demanded that the industrial units set up illegally be dismantled and a strict check be maintained on such unlawful activities.
The villagers also expressed the fear that the rapid industrialisation in the whole area could deprive them of their ancestral lands as was witnessed in other parts of Karachi. They said the city nazim had repeatedly been apprised of the situation but an appropriate action was yet to be taken.
