KOHAT, July 11: Dust pollution from Kohat Cement Factory (KCC) has made the life of residents in the surrounding villages miserable, as the factory management failed to install a new imported plant despite an agreement in this regard several years ago, sources said.

One KCC official, who requested anonymity, said that in 2009 the commissioner Kohat division and then housing minister Amjid Khan Afridi had signed an agreement with the KCC management for installation of new imported plant within nine months, but despite passage of five years the same outdated and substandard plant had been retained.

He claimed that the plant was spreading dust and carbon dioxide in big quantities into the air, which had been affecting the life of people of Frontier Region of Kohat, Razgir Banda, Babri Banda and other adjoining villages near the company.

He alleged that the management usually started operating the plant after evening to hide emission of the pollution. He said that it was using 600 tons of coal each day from which the gravity of the problem could be easily judged. He said that in this regard the people had also filed a case in the Peshawar High Court and moved an appeal to the ministry of environment.

The official recalled that the plant was converted to coal over a decade ago from furnace oil and electricity after exorbitant rise in the prices of oil and power, but no arrangements were made to control the air pollution. He said that spare parts of the plant were being manufactured in Gujranwala which had deteriorated the clean functioning of the cement plant. He said that the company had installed a white cement plant in addition to old grey cement plant a decade ago which had increased dust in the air.

He said that recently 58 local contract workers were expelled and substitutes hired from Punjab on the pretext that people of Kohat indulged in forming unions against the management. However, an agreement existed for providing 75 per cent jobs to local people.

Another KCC official, when contacted, said that pollution was a natural phenomenon attached to industrialisation. He said that there was an inbuilt pollution control system comprising heavy fans installed in the new KCC plant, which collected the dust. He claimed that the company had installed the new plant and emissions from the kiln were well under control.