November 10, 2008	Monday	Ziqa'ad 11, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 9: Some 29 million gallons of untreated sewage is being dumped daily into the Mehmoodabad nullah as the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s Mehmoodabad sewage treatment plant-II has been out of order for the past two months.

The disposal of filthy water into nullah is severely affecting the environment and public health in the nearby localities.

The disposal has almost choked the Mehmoodabad nullah which now is filled with garbage and all kinds of rubbish.

People living in different localities of Jamshed town such as Liaquat Ashraf Colony No1 and No2, Mehmoodabad and Manzoor Colony have told Dawn that several houses in these areas are getting dirty water due to the overflowing of the nullah.

People say that the disposal of a huge quantity of untreated sewage into the Mehmoodabad nullah is polluting the whole environment of their localities and may result in the outbreak of water-borne diseases.

They say that they are extremely worried about the increasingly filthy and unhygienic conditions and looming spectre of an epidemic.

Sources said that Mehmoodabad treatment plant (STP-II), even before it developed a fault, was working much below its capacity and treating less than 29mgd sewage as against its designed capacity of 46mgd.

On the other hand, the two other treatment plants set up at Site (STP-I) and Mauripur (STP-III) were also working much below their designed capacities and a huge quantity of over 350mgd untreated sewage was being disposed of into the sea via the Malir and Lyari rivers, they said.

The release of untreated sewage into the sea is destroying marine life and disturbing the whole ecosystem.

The STP-I was treating 25mgd of sewage against its designed capacity of 51mgd while the STP-III was treating only 35mgd of sewage, the sources said.

“The irony is that while the Mehmoodabad treatment plant is not working, the land mafia has become active and trying to encroach upon the land reserved for the plant’s expansion,” they said.