ISLAMABAD, April 21: As the International Earth Day is being observed on Sunday, people in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad continue to suffer the effects of unabated environmental degradation.
The situation has deteriorated so much that some residents of sector I-9 and I-10 have moved the Supreme Court against industrial units for allegedly creating pollution that caused asthma, respiratory infections, allergies and heart diseases in their area.
Reportedly, 500 factories in the I-9 and I-10 industrial area are causing water and air pollution. Of them, 204 are manufacturing units like the steel furnaces, ghee/oil mills, GI pipes, etc., which either lack or have inadequate facilities for treatment of waste.
Despite repeated meetings between the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency, CDA and owners of these industrial units, no arrangements have been made for disposal of waste and installation of equipment to check pollution in the area.
In the past, a comprehensive study on the I-9 and I-10 sectors was conducted by Pak-EPA in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency which had recommended the units to strictly adhere to the National Environmental Quality Standards by establishing solid/liquid waste treatment plants.
Some 1,500 tones of effluents are reportedly generated by the industrial units and thrown into the Nullah Leh on a daily basis, heavily polluting the underground water reservoirs in the twin cities.
The recent massive chopping of trees for the extension of roads in the federal capital has caused an irreparable loss to the environment and denuded the city of its greenery. Besides, the water of Rawal Lake has been found polluted by the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources on many occasions.
Ground water in Rawalpindi is polluted to a dangerous level, especially in areas located along Nullah Leh as the watertable is fast depleting.
Water supplied by Wasa has been found contaminated at many places as some 40 per cent of hospital beds in the city are being occupied by patients with water-borne diseases. The Asian Development Bank-funded Urban Water Supply and Sanitation project and Rawalpindi Environment Improvement project have failed to ensure clean drinking water to the citizens.
The Rawalpindi Master Plan (1996-2000) never reached its implementation stage to prevent mushroom growth of private housing schemes. In fact, the city was never planned. Traffic mayhem in the twin cities are contributing towards noise pollution and congestion.
The solution lies in a joint plan of action for the preservation of environment and water reservoirs by the CDA, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, which seems unlikely to happen in the near future.
Meanwhile, a study jointly carried out by the Columbia and Yale universities recently ranked Pakistan 127th in the list of 133 polluted countries. The unbridled deforestation intensified by the industrial run-off and vehicle emissions have polluted the country’s air, water and soil not only in the urban areas but also in the countryside.
Researchers at the Pakistan Medical Research Council recently found that consumption of polluted water caused a large number of diseases in the country. Even the 38 per cent of the population that received water through pipelines runs the risk of consuming seriously contaminated water.
According to the ministry of environment, air pollution causes 22,700 deaths every year including 700 children. Pakistan is the most urbanised country in South Asia with an estimated 35 per cent of its population living in cities while the total health costs caused by pollution are between Rs62 to Rs65 billion per year.