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WEEKLY
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| Marble-cutting units polluting many areas |
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Wednesday, May 06, 2009
By Ali Raza
LAHORE
MORE than 500 marble-cutting units are polluting populous residential localities of the provincial metropolis while many units are working in and around the newly established residential schemes where construction of houses is going on.
Sources in the Environment Protection Department (EPD) said the marble-cutting units are causing environmental degradation by emitting marble dust and noise, besides they are also affecting traffic flow on various roads.
Marble dust, noise pollution and vibration are the major environmental problems the marble cutters are causing in the city. Environmental experts believe that all the three types of pollutions are very dangerous for the human population. They say marble dust is injurious to humans, especially children, as it causes asthma, choking of breath and many other diseases related to lungs while it can also affect eyesight.
Sources in the Environment Protection Department said majority of the marble-cutting units were operating on the Ferozpur Road near Ichhra and after being declared a cottage industry some years back, marble-cutting had now changed into a full-fledged industry.
The EPD sources said on the Ferozpur Road alone, over 300 marble cutters were operating openly and many had installed small units in the residential localities adjacent to the main road.
Experts said marble cutters released a continuous noise and vibration in the surrounding areas, which were dangerous for residents.
Noise could damage the hearing of people while continuous vibration could result into stress on nerves, they said, adding that vibration also affected the basic foundation of the nearby houses, which might collapse.
The sources said a number of marble cutters were also working on the Wahdat Road, Johar Town, and the College Road, Township, causing the abovementioned problems in the localities. In the Johar Town and Township areas, many marble-cutting units were installed at empty plots and they used to through residue of marble in nearby drains, which also resulted in chocking of drainage and sewage, they added.
The EPD sources revealed that in November 2007, the department decided to relocate all the marble-cutting units outside the provincial metropolis and it directed the district officer (Environment) to furnish a report regarding each unit functioning within residential/commercial areas.
In this connection, written instructions had been conveyed to the quarters concerned, they said, adding that in February 2008, the City District Government, Lahore, served final notices to some 600 marble cutters to shift their setups from residential areas to the outskirts of the city or to industrial estates. A senior official of the EPD said the CDGL had planned to shift marble cutters in different phases and in the first phase the marble cutters operating on the Ferozpur Road would be shifted outside the city. He said the CDGL was already working with the association of marble cutters over the issue, adding that the units would either be shifted to Shahdara or to the Raiwind Road.
He said some times back, the department had proposed shifting of all the marble-cutting units to the Sunder Industrial Estate but the proposal was rejected as there was no zone available for marble industry in the industrial estate. About taking action against marble cutters, dumping liquid waste in empty plots, he said the CDGL had fined many such violators and would continue doing so.
Talking about the issue, EPD Secretary Sajad Saleem Hotiyana said he had recently directed the department to conduct a detail survey regarding the issue and submit a comprehensive report to him within the next few days. He said the department would listen to the views of both the residents and marble cutters during the survey.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
