KARACHI, July 11: The 10- to 15-year-old public transport vehicles, especially buses, are the major cause of growing pollution in Karachi and the government is mulling over to ban these vehicles, said the adviser to Sindh chief minister for environment, alternate energy and information technology, Muhammad Noman Saigal, here on Tuesday.

Talking to various delegations of NGOs and public that called on him in his office, he said the transport-borne pollution was causing various diseases and the government was taking steps to overcome this problem.

He said the 10 to 15 years old vehicles were the main cause of air pollution in Karachi and they were causing 70 per cent of this pollution.

He said the government was considering banning these vehicles. He further said 8,000 to 10,000 CNG-run buses were being imported.

He said that a scheme was under consideration to issue loans to promote the CNG-run buses.

The adviser said violation of environmental laws in industrial areas had increased water and air pollution. He said the discharge of industrial waste directly into the sea posed grave threats to fishermen and marine life. He said steps were being taken to tackle this serious issue.

He said owners of all industrial units should get conducted 'environmental audit' of their factories. He asked officers of the Environmental Protection Agency to launch a robust campaign against violators of environmental laws so that a clean and healthy atmosphere could be provided to the people.—PPI