HYDERABAD, March 20: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued notices to the DCOs of Hyderabad and Tando Mohammad Khan, Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (Site) managing director, Taluka Municipal Administration (TMA) City, Latifabad, and Managing Director of Wasa for violating law by disposing of industrial effluent and domestic wastewater in the Phulelli canal that supplies water to Badin and Tando Mohammad Khan districts for human consumption.

The notices were issued by the agency on Wednesday for violation of Section 11 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency Act (PEPA) 1997, while punishment of such violation has been defined under the Section 17 of the act.

The notices were issued by the EPA director general to the violators in the wake of continued disposal of wastewater, industrial and domestic sewage in Phulelli canal that passes through Hyderabad city.

However, the acting DCO of Hyderabad, Barkat Rizvi, said he didn’t receive any such notice.

A report had been sent to the DG EPA of Sindh regarding such disposal of wastewater seeking his intervention in the matter.

Water discharges in the off-taking canals have been reduced by the irrigation authorities which aggravated the situation.

On the one hand discharge of wastewater in Phulelli canal continues unabated while on the other the required flow of fresh water was not available that helps dilution of water to make it fit for human consumption.

According to the regional officer of EPA Hyderabad, Irfan Abbasi, the notices had been sent to the MD Wasa, TMAs of Latifabad and City and Site’s engineer, separately. The matter would now be taken up by his office accordingly.

He informed that now the sampling of wastewater would be conducted in presence of the violator of the EPA Act whereby three samples would be collected from each location, two of them would by kept by the EPA and one would be handed over to the violator for a separate analysis.

He said after the finalisation of the matter the case would be forwarded to the Environmental Tribunal of the province.

People use the unsafe drinking water in Badin, Sujawal, Tando Mohammad Khan, Kotri and Jamshoro areas because around 25MG sewage was being thrown into the old and new Phulelli canals of River Indus for the past many years.

Currently city’s wastewater was thrown in the canal through Darya Khan pumping station but under a new scheme the canal would be bypassed. After treatment of sewage, it would be sold for cultivation to meet recurring cost of plant.

Similarly, another treatment plant would be completed by next year near Sahrish Nagar so that sewage of Qasimabad, being discharged in River Indus, could be treated at that plant.

Wasa tests quality of water to determine 10 parameters while the World Health Organisation had set 31 different parameters as an international standard to make water fit for human consumption.

“We consider it a human issue because a large population is living in Tando Mohammad Khan, Bulri Shah Karim and Badin who are supplied with water from these canals,” said District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil.

He said that wastewater was being thrown in the canals even before partition days but the district government had realised the gravity of the situation.