FAISALABAD, Feb 17: More than 100 industrial units are discharging their untreated effluents into drains of the Irrigation Department, it is learnt.

Spinning mills, dying units, knitwear units, printing units, textile mills, paper mills, flourmills, ghee mills, cold storages, poultry feed factories, soap factories, food units, hospitals, chemical factories, power plants and sugar mills discharging untreated effluents into the drains defy government rules with impunity, although public departments have enough evidence against them.

Under the law, industrial units cannot discharge their untreated wastes into drains. However, 101 industrial units are discharging their effluent into drains of Samundri drainage division and 15 are doing the same in the Faisalabad drainage division.

Most of these industrial units are owned by people like former federal minister for textiles Mushtaq Ali Cheema, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) President Hamid Javed, former FCCI president Mian Idrees Ahmed, Member of National Assembly Asim Nazir and District Nazim Rana Zahid Touseef.

The industrial units discharging their effluents into Samundri division drains are Ahmed Din Tex; Masood Tex; Habib Calico; Bismillah Spinning; Sitara Chemicals; Mag Tex; MN Mills; Bismillah Tex; AM Tex; Inter Loop Factory; Al-Barka Tex; Kausar Processing; Firdous Cloth; Hassan Spinning; Irshad Corporation; Image Tex; Arzoo Tex; Ittehad Fabric; Magna Tex; Ali Tex; Shamus Paper Mills; Ishfaq Tex; KSM Pvt Ltd; MK Sons; Rafique Fabrics; SNA Tex; Samira Fabrics; Kamran Tex; MSC Tex; Nimra Tex; Bismillah Fabrics; Kamal Spinning and Weaving; Gohar Tex; Asim Tex; Al-Zamin Tex; AA Spinning; Jeea Tex; Five Star International; Al-Rehmat Trading; Abdul Rehman Corporation; Hunza Sugar Mills; Sweety Tex; Mughal Board Factory; Farrukh, Fresh and Lyallpur flourmills; LSB, RSB factories; New Tariq, Prince, Ittefaque, Raja Ali Badar, Bashir, Madina, Mashallah and Raja cold storages; Orient Coating and Finishing Mills; United Factory; Moheet Tex; Zahid Jee Fabrics; Pak and Faisal poultry productions; Mian Paper Board; Umer Apparel; Azeem and Al-Hajwary hosieries; Al-Noor Processing; Dawood Exports and Textiles; Zafar Fabrics; Master Tex; Sumera Towel; Ehsan Industries; Kaka Khel Oil Mills; Rana, Azhar and Irshad soap factories; Mubarik Industries; Imran Tex; Chand Industries; ENEM Tex; AHK Tex; Sahib Tex; Muslim Tex; Al-Aziz Dying; Bashir Printing; Mumtaz Mohal Tex; Sitara Tex; Rashid Tex; Vita Bread; Arif Tex; Kiran Hosiery; Chaudhry Enterprises; AM Knitwear; Fashion Trend; Darul Sahat Trust Hospital; AZ Apparel and Sandal Dye Stuff. The factories discharging their wastes into Faisalabad division drains are Madni Ghee Mills, Sitara Chemicals, Rana Tex, Bilal Fibres, Rafhan Maize Products, Hussain Sugar Mills, Aslam Chemicals, Ibrahim Tex, Arshad Group of Industries, Zahid Jee Tex, Khursheed Spinning, Ibrahim Fibres, Sitara Energy, Pride Spinning and Bilal Textile.

The drains being polluted by these industrial units are MDA Br Drain, 6-L Try (9), Gidri Try (5), KHR Try (1), 3-L Try (1), Awagat (4), Samundri drain (1), Dijkot (19), Sub 6-L (5),

Sangla (8), Jaranwala (5), Mohranawala (1), Sarangwala (18), Paharang (15) and Chak 186 drain.

District Environment Officer Javed Iqbal said ‘some’ industrial units were discharging their wastes into the drains and added that the owners of such units would be punished as the case was being sent to the environment tribunal.

He said the district government was well aware of the issue and taking measures to keep environment clean and healthy.