THIS refers to the report “Ravi ‘most polluted river’ in the world” (Feb 16). It got a front-page display apparently because it came as a rude shock. The fact is that those who live in Lahore, or know Lahore, are aware of the Hudiara drain, which dumps tonnes and tonnes of untreated sewerage and industrial waste directly into the river.

But Ravi is not alone in having to put up with such pollution. The same is happening with the Malir and Lyari rivers in Karachi which has the whole Indian Ocean to absorb our waste; a luxury that Lahore does not have.

The problem in Ravi near Lahore is entirely of our own doing. We must treat sewage before dumping it into the river. In Sindh, Latifabad, the heart of Hyderabad, still has an open sewerage system and it functions okay. Should we let it continue or give the people of Hyderabad a modern underground sewerage system? People of both Hyderabad and Lahore deserve better.

Let us not oppose modern projects owing to ignorance. Sewage treatment by way of grey water harvesting is an environmentally-approved method and is being used in several cities and villages in Pakistan.

S. Nayyar Iqbal Raza
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2022