THE strong stench of industrial waste flowing in open drains in workers colony in Korangi industrial area was nauseating. The vegetable farms bulldozed recently lay on the other side of the Malir river embankment in Sector 7-A.
A visit to the area revealed that the brewing tension, with ethnic overtones, had a potential to blow into a full-fledged conflict.
There are several farming villages in the area dominated by Sindhi and Balochi speaking people.
“The destruction of farms will deprive the farming community of their livelihood, worsen the ecological standards and deprive Karachiites of fresh guavas (jams), papayas and greens cultivated in Malir,” commented a town planning expert. “It is unfair and unwise.”
The businessmen of the area admitted that waste treatment facilities in the Korangi industrial area were insufficient and inefficient. “It is true that many factories dispose off unprocessed waste in the locality and in Malir river. There are some waste treatment plants but I am not sure if they are functional,” Mian Zahid, Hussain former chairman Korangi Association of Industry and Trade told Dawn over telephone. He did not rule out the possibility of toxic content in dumped industrial waste.
Early this month, the district administration destroyed some vegetable farms because their produce was suspected to be unfit for human consumption as polluted water was alleged to have been used for irrigation. The whole operation was televised and aired by some channels. “The raid actually followed a TV report regarding the possibility of high toxic content in the vegetation in Malir area”, confirmed a police officer who provided his department’s support on Deputy Commissioner’s request during the raid.
It was not clear why no attempt was made by the administration to tackle the cause rather affects of pollution. “Why do they not deal with elements responsible for dumping toxic material in the river that irrigates green belt around Karachi?” asked a lady taking care of baby goats at a farm. The young woman did not tell her name. “We use the water we get, if it is not clean there is not much we can do about it”.
The event has created ripples strong enough to ruffle the fruit and vegetable markets in the city. A snap visit of the green belt in the district East and subsequent interviews of businessmen, city administration, community elders, farmers and others confirmed there is more to the story than reported so far.
Nisar Mohammad, 50, a wage worker on a farm conducted the visiting Dawn team voluntarily. He looked distressed when he showed tyre marks of trucks and bulldozers used to destroy the standing crop of spinach and other greens on the damp soil.
Saleh Mohammad, the owner of a razed farm used his cell and within minutes about a dozen anxious senior members of thecommunity gathered to brief Dawn about the activity and the possible motivation.
Generally people of the affected community were in a defiant mood. They said they will resist any conspiracy aimed at evicting them, tooth and nail. They believed that the powerful earth movers and land grabbers were behind the activity.
They hinted at involvement of a ring of mafia that enjoys active support of city administration and some political parties. “The mafia projects and pursues its interests with carrot and stick strategy. They buy allegiance wherever they need and engage thugs to teach a lesson if someone shows reluctance to oblige or come in their way,” Haji Deem Mohammad, another small farm owner said.
A temporary shed that housed office of the contractor overseeing the digging operation was nearby. There were about a dozen people present there. They all were reluctant to reveal their identity or talk. The contractor Abdul Samad was not available on the site but the supervisor Imran traced him on cell phone. Samad said he had a licence from the Mining and Mineral Department of Sindh for the ongoing operation on the site.
The news of destruction of vegetable farms in Malir for growing crop with high toxic contents affected supply/price of vegetables and the consumer sentiments in Karachi. The sweet fresh peas of Malir suddenly disappeared and an earlier survey reported hike in prices of greens because of supply shortfalls.
“They raided the place without any notice or court order. They did not have any lab report or evidence to prove their contention of toxic content in our crop. It looked more like a choreographed operation aiming to serve some TV channel more than an effort by the administration to protect people of Karachi from harmful farm products”, Saleh Mohammad narrated his side of the story.
“The Bajri Reti mafia is at work here prompting media and coordinating all different departments to finish residual farms in the area and use the land for drawing Reti,” he added.
The movement of huge dumpers carrying sand and gravel (Reti and Bajri) in the vicinity lend credence to their standpoint. Asenior government officer evaded a direct answer and listed his limitations when quizzed about the possibility of the vested interest behind drive to destroy farming around Karachi. He took an apologetic position, however, assured to take prompt action if approached by residents and provided irrefutable evidence of harassment and illegal activity by earth movers.
All other key players who actively participated in the said drive were not available for comments. Some officers of city administration hinted at some big game of greed and collusion in the area.
“If we assume that there is a ‘metropolitan plan’ guiding the city government, it does not present a holistic approach to the urban landscape because it does not take into consideration ecological environment and social networks,” remarked a frustrated expert.