Environment dept, NFEH to launch joint awareness campaign

Sindh Environment Minister Dost Muhammad Rahimoon has expressed serious concerns about the hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage and wastewater being released by Karachi’s residential and industrial areas into the sea on a daily basis, thereby damaging the city’s coastal areas and marine environment.

The minister expressed his concerns during a meeting with a delegation of the National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH) that had called on him.

Rahimoon also expressed serious concerns that environmental conditions at Karachi’s Sea View beach have been worsening, along with harm being done to marine life, due to the constant discharge of untreated wastewater. He also lamented the unchecked release of untreated industrial and solid waste into the Phuleli canal in Hyderabad.

Leading the NFEH delegation, Naeem Qureshi suggested on the occasion that the provincial government introduce strict penalties to tackle the cases of tree cutting, unsafe disposal of municipal waste, and other hazardous steps causing environmental pollution.

Qureshi said that concerned quarters of the civil society and the government need to work together to tackle the environmental challenge. He said Karachi generates around 12,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, and its massive quantity is not disposed of safely, being a major cause of environmental degradation in the city.

He lamented that tree cover is present merely in two per cent of the areas in Karachi against the international standard of tree cover on 25 per cent of land in a city.

The Sindh Environment Department and the NFEH on the occasion decided to mutually launch a mass awareness campaign to inform the concerned residents about healthy civic practices to improve the environmental conditions in the city.

They agreed that the awareness campaign would motivate the residents to actively take part in tree planting drives, and adopt sustainable living practices to contribute to the cause of improving environmental conditions.

They stressed people would also be informed about the existing environmental laws and regulations in the province under the campaign. Rahimoon accepted the NFEH’s invitation to attend the upcoming 21st Environmental Conference and Awards as the chief guest to discuss such issues with the concerned environmental activists.