KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed police and other authorities to take legal action if an earlier order of the apex court regarding coal dumping and its transportation was violated.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam also directed the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the coal storage and also visit the industrial units were coal was being used.

The petitioner, Venu G. Advani, submitted that the Supreme Court had directed the Port Qasim Authority in June last year that open coal storage will not be allowed anywhere in the provincial metropolis and can only be kept in warehouses and in case of transportation, proper blankets and moisture must be provided so that the coal dust should not cause pollution. But, the court order has not been complied with, he maintained. The petitioner further submitted that there was no monitoring of coal storage.

He suggested that the transportation of coal from the PQA may be made through the railways instead of vehicles. A PQA official submitted that a project to lay down railway track to berths was being prepared and after the approval of PC-I it will be completed in 12 to 18 months.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2019