THATTA: Dozens of citizens belonging to the twin towns of Makli and Thatta took to the streets here on Tuesday in protest against the intensifying dust and smoke emissions from the stone crushing plant installed by the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) very close to a polytechnic institute, some private hospitals, NGO offices and shopping arcades etc. The plant is said to operate round-the-clock.

Led by Faisal Sattar, Syed Azhar Shah and social worker Syed Rizwan Shah, the protesters raised slogans against pollution.

Carrying placards, they marched through the main road and converged on the Thatta-Karachi National Highway and staged a sit-in, suspending vehicular traffic for more than an hour.

Addressing the demonstrators, Faisal Sattar, Azhar Shah and Rizwan Shah claimed that since the installation of the heavy stone crushing plant at the Makli bypass by the FWO, the local population was feeling miserable.

They contended that the heavy pollution had made the lives of people, especially patients suffering from asthma, skin, eye and stomach problems, difficult.

They said that as per rules, the construction company should have established the stone crushing plant far from human settlements, but despite repeated requests, nobody paid heed.

During the protest, Thatta Headquarter ASP Farooq Ahmed on behalf of the construction company contacted the protesting citizens and ensured installation of a filter plant in the crushing plant within one week to minimise the dust and smoke emission and avert any damage to human settlements.

On the assurance, the demonstrators dispersed peacefully.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2017