This green spot in the thick jungle of concrete is the enclosure of a sewage treatment plant, spread over 2,000 acres, near Shershah in Site. Although, its main gate opens on the main road, opposite the Siemens offices, most people are ignorant of its existence.
Aimed at treating the sewage of the then small city of Karachi, the construction of the plant began in 1895. On its completion, the plant was put to service in 1913. It was replicated on a treatment plant set up in Calcutta (now Kolkata) by the British. Another such plant was added during the British rule, at Mehmoodabad, to serve the growing population of the city.
All sewerage lines laid till 1960 were connected to these plants. More than a dozen booster pumps across the city pumped the sewage to the plants. And not even a drop of untreated sewage was allowed to flow into the sea. This shows how the earlier generations of the city administrators had public welfare and concern for the ecology in mind. The later waves of our leaders apparently had more pressing concerns, including personal ones, that compelled them to let collective problems go down the drain.
Although the plant in Site is still doing a great job, thanks to the explosion in the city’s population its role has shrunk to the minimum.
Against its capacity to treat up to 51 million gallons daily of sewage, it is treating only 7mgd of it. The city is producing as much as 350mgd of sewage. The meagre amount the plant is treating is also drawn from stormwater drains as over the years the sewers linked to the plant have broken down and diverted directly to the sea. Most of the socalled booster pumps have also ceased to function.
This filthy water is filled with poisonous toxic waste from the nearby factories. And those selling vegetables grown on it are playing with the health of the buyers who believe they are getting the freshest, and thus healthiest, vegetables for their money. Most vendors wash their vegetable loads with the same water.
The plant was run by the Karachi Development Authority till 1982, when it was taken over by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.
“Although treated, the water is exceedingly injurious to health,” says Ismail Khan, who worked for seven years on similar plants in Saudi Arabia.
“This water should only be used to grow flowers and trees,” says Mr Khan. “A garden full of flowers and fruit trees would be a great treat for those visiting the plant or living around it, and to the whole city.”
The plant land, known as Sewage Farm No 1, is contracted out to vegetable growers on a three- or five-year contract. The plant not only irrigates the land but also provides a lot of powerful fertilizers that help the vegetables grow fast. The fertilizers the plant produces is enough to nourish and nurture dozens of parks in the city.
The plant at Mehmoodabad is also performing a nominal duty. The recent one, established in the early ‘90s, at Mauripur is yet to take up its job. It was set up to cater to the toxic sewage of the Site industrial area. Since the sewage is supposed to be pumped to it, and at present it is not being done, the plant is almost inoperative.
It is not only that the existing plants need to be put to proper functioning. The city’s future ecological requirements demand more such plants.