Our Indus river is the second most polluted river in the world. Like old newspapers, let everyone collect plastics, deposit them and get rewards.

We don’t take air pollution seriously. Smoke, gas, carbon, methane, uranium, lead, mercury, coal, ash etc., are from power and coal plants and spread hundreds of miles, polluting our rivers, oceans, underground aquifers and our soil. Our rivers are still being exploited for sand and gravel.

Fighting these issues require a will first and then funds. Can’t we make our ministry of climate change the most important one? As far as funds are concerned, a two per cent environment tax on the use of fossil fuel usage and industries that pollute will be a good starting point.

There is money in the bank for the ‘dam account’. It can be used to start off and can be returned in a year.

But the awareness and will is not there. The world will not help us unless we help ourselves.

Don’t we want to leave Pakistan a better place for our children?

Venu Advani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2019