The residents of a small village in Chontra no longer have the luxury of breathing fresh air and strolling in the open places as they did in the past due to the sudden arrival of poultry farms in their residential area.

The villagers of Parial used to live in a neat and clean atmosphere. But after the establishment of the poultry farms, they remain almost trapped indoors and unable to breathe fresh air. Besides, when they raised a voice against the setting up of the poultry farms in the residential area, they were baton charged and lobed with tear gas shells by the police. The private security guards of the poultry farms also harassed them.

“Our elders who used to have a night sleep in the open places such as terraces and rooftops in the summers are now worried because the atmosphere of the village is polluted with stinking odour of poultry feed and chicken litters,” Amir Mehmood, the principal of a private school, told Dawn.

“Even children of my school are perturbed over the polluted air and some of them have been complaining about breathing disorder,” he said.

Akhtar Mehmood, a longtime resident of the village, was equally worried over the breeding of flies and mosquitoes. But he seemed helpless and said their efforts to get the poultry farms shifted out remained unproductive.

“I am worried about my children and the elderly parents who always complain about the increasing number of flies in our house. The flies enter the house even though we keep the doors and windows closed all the time,” said Akhtar Mehmood who lives with his parents in the village.

The residents said when construction activities started in the village about two years ago they were told that a factory was being set up in the locality where the local youth would be provided jobs.

“Initially, one of the owners used to visit the site on a helicopter, so the villagers thought that it was a government project. However, when chickens were brought to the new buildings, they realised that they had been cheated,” said Babar Qayyum, another villager.

Last year, the villagers had to stage a protest sit-in against the setting up of the poultry farms in the residential area. But the participants of the sit-in dispersed peacefully when the management of the poultry farms assured them that their grievances would be addressed by taking preventive measures against pollution. As the villagers saw no progress on the fulfillment of the promise, they staged a protest demonstration against the poultry farms on August 26. The participants later clashed with the police and the security guards of the farms.

The security supervisor of the project in his report lodged with the police alleged that the protesting villagers were demanding “Bhatta” from him and also fired gunshots that injured him and one of his colleagues. Later, the police reached the spot and used force to disperse the protesting villagers and arrested 11 of them.

Another resident said there were also rumours that one of the owners was a politician who forced the local police and the administration to take action against the protesting villagers.

The next day, another case was registered against the villagers but this time on the complaint of the police. The police claimed the protesters damaged their vehicle and also obstructed them from performing their official duty. Finally, the villagers had to retreat despite lodging a counter case against the security staff of the poultry farms who they claimed had detained an 11-year-old boy of the village and tortured him.

The issue was also brought into the notice of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan who held a meeting with the affected villagers on Thursday and assured them that their problems would be resolved.

On the other hand, City Police Officer (CPO) Israr Ahmed Abbasi launched a departmental inquiry into the incident to ascertain the circumstances which caused the clash.

Dr Shaheen, deputy medical superintendent at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, said poultry projects should not be located in the residential areas as wings and hair of the birds caused air pollution and respiratory diseases among people after dispersing in the air.

“Elderly people and children are especially affected form the foul smell emitted from the chicken waste and feed of the birds,” the doctor said, adding it also affected the indoor air quality in houses.

Published in Dawn September 12th, 2015

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