SWABI: The stone crushing plants close to residential areas in Swabi have damaged the region’s delicate ecosystem, caused the environmental degradation and crippled the people’s life, residents of various affected areas said on Sunday.

Dawn visited Salim Khan, Maneri and Chota Lahor mining areas, where the residents said that unabated blasting had created incessant noise pollution.

The interaction with residents revealed that the people involved in mining were so powerful and influential that they could not be challenged at any forum.

The people of Salim Khan village said that the combination of the pollutants had badly degraded the air quality, posing critical health risks to the local population, especially the vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and those who suffered from pre-existing respiratory problems.

Residents say dust from excessive blasting causing respiratory diseases

“Just take the example of Gul Raiz Khan Kaka, whose eyesight was lost during the blasting at a mountain in Salim Khan village about three decades ago. He was earning his livelihood in mining but he has since been confined to his home. No financial help has been provided to him,” said a local resident on condition of anonymity.

In Jhanda village, a farmer said: “Beyond human health, the ecological damage to the flora and fauna of the region is catastrophic, disturbing the balance of nature that sustains the area’s biodiversity.”

Meanwhile, a letter written to Khyber Pakhtunkhawa secretary minerals development department by residents of Jhanda village said that industrial activities had worsened air pollution, releasing harmful particulate matter into the atmosphere and contributing to the thickening of smog and haze.

“These pollutants are known to cause chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular complications, and other long-term health issues. This situation constitutes a direct violation of Article 9 and 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which enshrine the right to environmentally safe life, health and dignity,” the letter read.

It elaborated: “The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that a clean and sustainable environment is essential for human dignity. To permit such hazardous activities near expanding residential areas is to endanger not only human lives but also the dignity and fundamental rights of every individual in this region.”

“The stone crushing machinery and blasting operations have accelerated environmental degradation, contributing to soil erosion, deforestation, and the destruction of natural landscapes,” said the letter, adding that dust and debris from these activities settled on crops and water sources, contaminating them and rendering them unfit for use.

It said that local agriculture, which depends on the clean air, soil, and water of the region, faces severe setbacks, threatening livelihoods and food security.

The Jhanda village residents appealed to the secretary that keeping in mind the devastating and far-reaching consequences, environmental sustainability and public health should be prioritised over short-term industrial gains.

When contacted, officials of the district administration and a contractor told Dawn that they had made serious efforts to protect both environment and people from the effects of the mining activities.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2025