IN the deepening shadows of climate change-led water scarcity and drought, the residents of Kasur have another water-related peril to suffer — groundwater contamination.

There are more than 300 leather tannery units in the heart of the city and more than 90 per cent of them rely solely on chrome-based tanning for processing the raw animal hides into fine leather.

The said tanning method produces tonnes of liquid waste constituting severely toxic acids, chemicals and heavy metals, like chromium and cadmium. The two metals are considered the topmost cancer-causing elements on the planet.

Due to poor management of wastewater, these toxic elements seep through soil beds to become part of the aquifer, or the underground natural water reservoir.

Unfortunately, due to the non-availability of clean drinking water, a large portion of the population has been for long forced to drink the underground water without any proper filtration.

Needless to say, these toxic chemicals are causing serious health problems, such as liver diseases, kidney-related ailments, hypertension and even cancer, among the local people.

A study conducted in 2022 by several international and national scholars found that the groundwater around the tanneries area had heavy metal concentrations that were far beyond the permissible limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international regulatory bodies.

There is a dire need to regulate the entire industrial process and to actively promote leather tanning in sustainable and environment-friendly ways.

The government should encourage the tanners to use vegetable tanning, which is a known healthy alternative to hazardous chrome-based tanning. Also, the wastewater out of the factories should be treated properly and with due care so that the people in the area do not suffer.

Zaki Ul Rahman
Kasur

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2025