Wastewater discharge into Ravi poses threat to inhabitants

LAHORE: Highly toxic wastewater being discharged into the Ravi river since decades has vanished aquatic life besides posing a severe threat to the inhabitants residing along the banks of one of the most polluted rivers of the country.

Reduced almost to a drain of industrial and household wastewater, there exists no life in the putrid water of the Ravi river for more than 10 kilometer downstream Lahore. The discharges pouring in the Ravi river are almost triple the permissible limits set by the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS).

The animals consuming the polluted water are getting physiological disorders transmittable to the human bodies through, causing unimaginable damages. A study by the Green Cross Pakistan reveals that the milk of these animals causes cancer of lymphatic organs and other psychological disorders in humans besides numerous skin diseases.

The untreated sewage water carries a dangerous cargo of infectious bacteria, viruses, parasites and toxic chemicals. When it ends up in the river, it takes a severe toll on human health and environment.

The Ravi river in which the wastewater of Lahore is discharged is estimated at 1015 cusecs whereas dry flow of the river is 460 cusecs, has become a main victim to the discharge of the untreated toxic water and sewer through drains, canals and lakes. The presence of toxic materials in the water of the Ravi river has reached such an extent that it is unable to support any life, with environmentalists proclaiming that “Ravi river has died.”

Wide variety of fish which once swam in the fresh waters of the legendary Ravi river has vanished over the years as minnows and crabs which the children used to catch from the shallow waters along the banks of the river have also become a part of the folklore. Even the reeds which used to line the river have also gone with the passage of the time.

Adulterated with everything form of lead, cyanides, mercury, solvents, hydrocarbon compounds, hospital and pharmaceutical industry waste, the Ravi river is now virtually dead even when the normally dry bed carries water usually after heavy rains. The only creature seen hovering over the river are the kites gracefully swooping down to collect the chunks of meat hurled by the people standing on its bridges.

The extreme toxic pollution in the Ravi has destroyed most of the 42 species of the fish that once lived in the river as well as the bird life around it which has migrated to other safer places. The survival of the small inveritables, micro fauna and flora has also been threatened. With the fish species gone, the fishermen community has also met the similar fate.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pakistan has estimated that there is an annual loss of 5000 metric tons of the fish caught from the Ravi river as a direct consequence of pollution.

The aquatic life which once thrived here in abundance has been killed by the unimaginable dumping of the millions of tons of toxic industrial effluent along with huge amount of the raw sewerage in the river Ravi.

As many as 14 main sewage drains namely Lakhudair Drain (5 cusecs discharge), Sukh Nehar (98 cusecs), Shadbagh/Khokhar Road Drainage System (210 cusecs), Forest Colony/Ravi Road Drain (25 cusecs), Shahdara Village Drain (3 cusecs), Farrukhabad Drain (95 cusecs), Sharif Park/Buddha Ravi Drain (98 cusecs), Outfall Drain (115 cusecs), Gulshan Ravi Disposal Station (185 cusecs), Babu Sabu/Shadman Drain (220 cusecs), Allama Iqbal Town Drain (55 cusecs), Sattukatla Drain (165 cusecs), Nishtar Colony Drain (25 cusecs) and Charrar Drain (70 cusecs) fall in the River Ravi. Besides these drains, industrial drains namely Bhed Nullah Drain, Choti Dek, Dek Nullah, Sheikhupura Drain, Chicho Ki Mallian Drain, Barianwala Drain, Hudiara Drain, Maduana Drain and Samundari Drain also fall in the Ravi river and pollute its water.

People residing along the banks of the Ravi river have developed various diseases including skin lesions, boils, rashes and infection caused by the toxic water. Viral, bacterial, protozoa, helminthes, leptospiral, snail and Cyclops diseases are also common among the people using the water of the River Ravi.

The hoards of the picknickers, rowing enthusiasts and the amateur fishermen as well as the boatmen who used to ferry people to the Mughal era vantage point commonly known as Kamran’s Baradari.

The Ravi river is estimated to receive 47 per cent of the total municipal and industrial discharge pumped into all the rivers of the country. Industrial and agriculture waste from both India and Pakistan pours into the Ravi river through Hudiara Drain which enters it on Lahore’s outskirts.

At present, the major downstream usage of the Ravi river is for irrigation beyond the Balloki Headworks. However, the population and economic activities in the immediate areas along the river Lahore to Balloki Headworks (around 64 kilometres) are affected in varying degree by pollution.

The wastewater from Lahore accounted for about 47 per cent of the total flow in 1987, but now it has reached around 70 per cent in 2006.

The area irrigated with raw sewerage from the city’s outfalls is estimated at 800 to 1000 hectares with vegetables mainly grown in this area.

A study carried out by the Faisalabad Agriculture University (in 1980) on Lahore’s sewage revealed that the crops grown from the river water were posing a serious threat to the public health besides affecting the livestock. Balfour Maunsel, a consultant, in 1987 had proposed comprehensive sewage water treatment plants, but it was not considered owing to ‘financial constraints’.

Now six sewage treatment plants have been proposed to treat the wastewater being discharged in the River Ravi. The plants have been proposed at Mian Mir Drain (Rs 4116 million), Hudiara Drain ((Rs 2058 million), Shadbagh Drain (Rs 2744 million), Sukh Nehar Drain (Rs 2766 million), Sattukatla Drain (Rs 1070 million), Farrukhabad Drain Shahdra (Rs 1194 million).

Besides these drains, the Ravi river also receives sewage and industrial waste from other districts of the province which fall in the river at various points.

Barianwala Drain is severely wastewater drain running about 26 kilometer from the Ravi Bridge across Lahore-Sheikhupura Road. Effluent from Dek Nullah with a Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) value of 17.5 milligrams per liter (mg/1) which increases by about 14 times after the outfall of the Barianwala Drain causes odour and unpleasant taste in the drinking water from contamination by nitrates. The bulk of the untreated effluents from the industrial estates when discharged into Barianwala Drain turn into toxic wastewater drain with almost zero dissolved oxygen.

According to the report “Pollution position of the Ravi river and its distributaries” by the Environment Protection Department in 1988, listed the discharges and effluents loading on the drains receiving discharge from Kala Shah Kaku Industrial Estate and the industries located along Lahore-Sheikhupura Road. The discharge of one million cubic meters per day (216 mgd) of the municipal sewage quoted in the report is similar to the one projected in a University of Engineering report in 1990.

The Ravi river is prone to various sources of pollution including solid waste dumped on its banks, pollution due to the cattle dung and illegal settlements along the banks.

The Hudiara Drain which originates from Batal District (Indian Punjab) enters Pakistan near village Lallu, about 7 km off Baidian Road. It then runs parallel to receiving municipal waste of DHA, Cantt and industries located along the Ferozepur Road and falls into the River Ravi, 8 km from Multan Road near Mohlanwal. On its way, the Hudiara Drain also picks up the Sattu Katla Drain, 1 km downstream of Raiwind which contains municipal and industrial waste from Township and Kot Lakhpat areas.

Throughout the length of Hudiara Drain, its extremely polluted water is being exclusively used for irrigation purposes through lift pumps which is harmful for crops as they enter the human chain.

An environmentalist has summed that three words i.e. Reduce, Dilute and Treat hold the key for saving the Ravi river from silent and slow poisoning. “We must remember that nature is a recycling phenomenon and we should not damage the nature which will ultimately take revenge,” the environmentalist commented.