CULTIVATION of vegetables with drain water was (recently) brought to the fore by a local … TV channel … through a comprehensive report, shot at the places where the practice is going on unabated. … It is hard for a person to stay for some moments near the stinking places where sewage is disposed of (into the river Ravi) but some people were seen pumping out water from there and using it for cultivating vegetables. …

Taking note of the report, the district administration took action and asked its executive officer (agriculture) to conduct a survey and submit within two weeks a report to the district coordination officer.

The environment department already had highlighted the matter and conducted a survey on cultivation of vegetables with sewage … and samples were also collected. Now the district coordination officer has ordered strict action against the people involved … while directing that all such vegetables should be … destroyed.

The DCO’s action is a step in the right direction. … Lahorites have been consuming such hazardous vegetables since long. Experts have … opined that such vegetables, especially when consumed uncooked, could have injurious impact on humans. … Another factor is … that several industries dispose of their toxic waste into the Ravi. And the water containing toxic substances and sewage is used for growing vegetables. …

The district administration ought to take … measures to end the practice. … There’s no denying that vegetables are being cultivated with toxic water and an immediate … crackdown … is the need of the hour. The … Lahore High Court is [also] proceeding against disposal of polluted and untreated water into the Ravi, asking the authorities … [to install a] … (water) filtration plant there. …—(Feb 20)

Selected and translated by Zaheer Mahmood Siddiqui.