OVERSIGHT of illegal industrial activity occurring within residential areas in the country is weak, especially in poorer areas. However, this criminal negligence can have deadly effects, especially for those unfortunate enough to live near these risky operations, as a spate of recent deaths in Karachi has shown. According to reports, at least 18 people — mostly children — have died over the past two weeks, apparently due to inhaling toxic gas emanating from industrial units unlawfully set up within residential neighbourhoods in the city’s Keamari district. Health officials say the suspicious deaths occurred after the factories were set up, while locals complained of noxious fumes in the air. Sadly, it is feared the death toll may rise after further details are gathered.

This tragedy occurred in peripheral areas of the metropolis, but such ramshackle industrial operations, with little to no safety checks, can be found dotted across Karachi. In fact, even in supposedly middle-class areas of the city, warehouses and godowns have discretely opened up in what are supposed to be residential neighbourhoods. Hazardous material is often manufactured and stored in such premises. This is not the first incident of its kind and, unless the authorities take action, it will not be the last. All responsible for the tragedy in Keamari must be made to answer, including the local police and administration, as well as errant industries and environment departments. They must be asked how enterprises dealing in hazardous material were operating under their noses in a residential locality. The sad truth is that even the formal sector is poorly regulated in Pakistan; what occurs in the informal sector, in factories and warehouses illegally opened up in congested neighbourhoods, is the stuff of nightmares. Unfortunately, life is cheap in Pakistan, especially if the victims are poor and marginalised, and after initial outrage such tragedies are forgotten. In order to change the status quo, the state needs to eliminate hazardous industries in residential areas.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2023