KARACHI, Feb 23: As many as seven fixed stations and four mobile laboratories will become operational for environmental monitoring activities in five cities including Karachi in April, said officials on Friday.

The systems are being established with Japan’s assistance for continuous monitoring of air emissions and liquid affluent in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Islamabad and help devise a plan based on the data to protect the local environment.

The Japanese government has provided about Rs973 million as grant through its Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the “establishment of environmental monitoring system in Pakistan project.

The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA) and JICA held a ceremony to mark the inauguration of a month long training workshop for the federal and provincial environmental agencies staff and new technical personnel appointed for the project.

Director PEPA, Zia-ul-Islam speaking at the ceremony, said two fixed air and water monitoring stations each , for Karachi and Lahore, and one each for Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta, and one mobile monitoring station at Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta and Lahore will become functional in the first week of April.

He said the stations would be interlinked with each other and data would be provided by these stations frequently for weather updates and awareness of public as well.

According to him the project’s major objectives will run for two years in the first stage, to develop capacity on monitoring plan designing, establish environmental standard, develop capacity on documentation of environment assessment guidelines and enhance the monitoring system.

The chief guest, provincial minister for environment and alternative energy Dr Sagheer Ahmed, thanked the Pakistan and Japanese governments for providing the monitoring facilities to Sindh.

Later, talking to Dawn, the minister said that he had taken up Sepa’s staff shortage and technical expertise problem with the provincial government and was hopeful more funds and staff would be provided.

He said the Sindh environment department had planned campaigns for ban on use of polythene bags, reduction in vehicular emissions and proper management of solid waste management in the city. He also lauded a decision by the governor to appoint EDOs of environment in all districts.

The Environment Department Secretary, Mir Hussain Ali and Sepa Director General Abdul Malik Ghauri and head of the training programme, Dr Noda Norihiro, also spoke on the occasion.

At Karachi fixed air monitoring stations are being commissioned at the SEPA head office in Korangi and the CDGK Revenue Department building Sakhi Hassan. The fixed and stationary monitoring will not only focus on major quality parameters like CO, NOx,O3, SO2, THC, SPM but also record meteorological data of wind speed and direction, temperature and solar radiation, dust, clean and polluted water, sludge coming out of he factories.