KARACHI: The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) on Thursday issued directives to all its regional heads and district officers asking them to carry out a survey of industrial units located in and around residential areas across the province.

The survey would be conducted in Karachi’s districts East, West, South, Central, Malir, Korangi, Keamari, as well as Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad.

The officials are required to make teams and submit a detailed report to the Sepa director general within 15 days.

“The directives have been given against the backdrop of last month’s fire incident in an industrial unit located in the residential area of Mehran Town,” a Sepa spokesperson said.

Environment watchdog takes action after Mehran Town factory fire

The survey had been planned in districts that were already known to have industrial units and districts such as Tharparkar, Umerkot and Kandhkot were not included in the exercise, he added.

“While health and safety at the workplace are the subject that doesn’t come directly under Sepa’s purview, the objective of the exercise is to prepare ground for collaboration with other departments and respective district administrations and take action against illegal industrial activities.”

The survey would comprise door-to-door site visits of residential areas where different illegal industrial/commercial operations were being carried without any protective measures in place, posing a threat to human life, property and environment.

The officials are required to collect data about the owner/proponent of the industrial unit, details about the industrial activity and the plot/property/workers involved. They are also required to look into environmental issues concerning the activity and see whether the owner has letters of approval from relevant departments, such as the district administration, department of industries, labour department and the Sindh Building Control Authority.

It might be recalled that the factory blaze allegedly caused by an electric short circuit in Mehran Town engulfed the industrial unit, BM Luggage, killing 16 workers.

A case was registered under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, the deaths took place on the upper portion of the building that allegedly lacked any emergency exit. “The factory building has been constructed in a manner that none can exit in case of emergency while no emergency alarm system was installed in it,” added the FIR.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021