LAHORE, April 17: The Environmental Protection Tribunal has summoned six industrial concerns of Kala Shah Kaku on April 25 to show cause why they should not be prosecuted for polluting environment.

Notices shall also be issued to the Environmental Protection Agency, Justice Khalid Paul Khwaja ordered on Tuesday after considering a complaint moved by the residents’ welfare society of Husain Town, Rayonpura, Kala Shah Kaku, Sheikhpura district, and hearing Advocate Anjum Jawaid Khan for the complainant.

The complaint said the six chemical plants and tanneries situated in close proximity to the residential areas discharged untreated waste water into Deg (Daik) Nullah. The nullah, once known for its clean water and fish catch (of about 600,000 kilograms per annum) has been contaminated. Subterranean water in its vicinity has also been polluted. Water drawn through hand pumps is also unsafe and no plantation grows in the area. The fish is totally extinct.

Air pollution caused by toxic wastes has also become a source of disease in the area. An unbearable smell assails the nostrils as one enters it. The complainant attached the findings of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Environment Protection Agency to substantiate the allegation. The two laboratories found the water unfit for human consumption.

The tribunal ordered that notices be issued to the six concerns and the EPA for April 25 under Sections 21 and 22 of the Environmental Protection Act of 1997.