KARACHI’S untreated sewerage is being drained into the dry Malir river bed. This river runs for approximately 36 kilometres and is about a kilometer wide. This water is being used to cultivate vegetables in the dry river bed. These contaminated vegetables are sold in city’s markets. Solid waste, plastic bags and other trash are also dumped in the sewerage adding to pollution.

A company in Karachi has been manufacturing 10 feet diameter PVC pipes for the past few years. If we dispose this raw sewerage in these PVC pipes laid underground, vegetable cultivation would stop. The ensuing stomach diseases caused by contaminated vegetables would be eliminated. Plastic bags and other garbage will not flow into to the sea and the stench generated would cease.

This idea can be further fine-tuned to develop a Karachi Central Park ten times the size of New York’s Central Park. This would be an ideal place to plant millions of trees as envisaged by our prime minister and create a green environment for our city.

S. Nayyar Iqbal Raza

Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018

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