Until a couple of years ago, the department used to catch a plenty of fish from Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab. However, things took a turn for the worse when chemical toxins started mixing with water that fell into these rivers.
Most factories in the province lack sewage treatment plants. The discharge of untreated toxic waste into drains, canals and rivers is killing fish.
The polluted water is also causing numerous diseases in the adjoining residential colonies. The factories in Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot are major sources of pollution for these water bodies.
Besides, rainwater also carries many pollutants to drains, canals and rivers.
The reduction in fish produce, however, has given a chance to the private sector to set up fish farms. Around 9,100 hectares in the province are being used for fish-farming and 16,000 million tons of fish being produced annually.
Natural waters of the province produce around 54,000 million tons of fish annually. The produce has been decreasing over the last seven years, according to a report of the fisheries department.
The officials of fisheries department are of the view that if fish continue to disappear from bodies of natural water, these will only be available through artificial breeding in the years to come. “Fish like Mahaseer, Khaga, Singhar, Sol are among dozens of species facing extinction due to pollution.”
Fisheries department director-general Dr Mohammad Ayub said that a couple of years ago various species of fish were found in abundance even in drains. Citing the examples of Hidiara Drain and Deg Nullah, he said these were fertile bodies for breeding and production of fish but had now become non-productive due to the inflow of untreated industrial effluent and city sewage that included hospital waste.
Landfills near rivers have also polluted the water, Dr Ayub said. Migration and drought are other reasons for disappearance of fish from rivers.
Dr Ayub said the department had written to the environment ministry for legal action against those factories that did not install water treatment plants, but no action had been taken against the polluters so far. He suggested that the government should make it compulsory for all industries to implement the National Environment Quality Standards.
It may however be mentioned that out of 6,000 major factories in the province, only 41 have sewage treatment plants. Every factory cannot afford to install a sewage treatment plant of its own. Therefore, the industrialists want financial support from the government besides installation of treatment plants in the form of clusters.
World Trade Organization (WTO) regime will be implemented in Pakistan from 2005. Under the regime, no industry would be allowed to export its products without being declared environment-friendly.
Though the EPD has launched a Self-Monitoring and Reporting Tools (SMART) programme, under which all the provincial industries are required to assess the pollution they generate, only 150 factories across the province have subscribed to the programme.
EPD secretary Kamran Lashari said the department would evolve a comprehensive strategy in this regard in collaboration with Wasa and industrialists. He said the industrialists would be given a precise timeframe for installation of sewage treatment plants.
