KARACHI, Nov 19: The movement of old locomotives of the Pakistan Railways (PR) has become a source of air pollution in and around cities of Sindh province.

The director-general, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), stated this in a letter to PR divisional superintendents in Karachi and Sukkur, suggesting a complete overhauling or tuning of the engines. He told Dawn that in a report, he had suggested replacement of the old locomotives.

He also asked the railway authorities to take serious notice and remedial measures, particularly for those running for a short distance from the main junctions like Karachi, Hyderabad, Kotri and Rohri to the adjacent areas. The PR possesses weak engines in such areas which emit heavy smoke.

During an environmental survey conducted by the SEPA, a passenger train, en route to Karachi near Jamshoro railway station, was found invariably emitting dense and black smoke at 3.30pm on Nov 12, said an EPA press release.

The hazardous smoke generation from the old locomotives resulted mainly because of improper combustion of fuel and lack of tuning. The train and other old locomotives release sox, nox and particles which are carried away to the attached compartments in which passengers travel.

The SEPA chief pointed out to the PR that gases released by the locomotives caused adverse impacts on the health of passengers and of those who lived along the railway tracks. “The effects may appear in the forms of respiratory diseases, lung cancer and eye irritation,” he added.