Closure of KPT coal yard near Clifton demanded

Environmentalists have demanded the immediate shutdown of a Karachi Port Trust (KPT) coal yard near Clifton because they believe it does not comply with the relevant laws and regulations.

Addressing a news conference on Thursday, environmental consultant Saquib Ejaz Hussain claimed there is no other way to protect the residents of Clifton’s blocks 1 and 2 except immediately stopping the storage and transportation of coal.

Hussain also claimed the continued presence and operation of the KPT coal yard near Clifton is brazenly flouting national and provincial environmental laws and regulations. He said “unsafe and unchecked” storage and transportation of coal from the facility has been causing “irreversible damage” to the physical environment of the adjoining Clifton locality, adding that its residents’ health will be “compromised” if the yard continues to operate.

He claimed the nearby marine environment and ecology will be seriously harmed if the mineral’s dumping, handling and transportation continues at the yard near blocks 1 and 2 of Clifton. The consultant cited recent scientific surveys and analyses as showing the air quality of the Clifton neighbourhood adjacent to the coal yard as already being “seriously compromised”.

In some of the instances, he claimed, environmental samples of the locality have shown the prevalence of hazardous particulate matter exceeding several times over the permissible limit set by the World Health Organisation.

“We don’t have any policy or system in place to check what type and standard of coal is being imported in the country. We should inspect each and every consignment of imported coal in order to determine if it’s hazardous for the environment.”

Hussain said the court has restricted the storage and handling of coal at the yard near Clifton to 200,000 tonnes per annum, but, he claimed, the remaining mineral is being stored and handled at 25 other sites within a radius of five to 10 kilometres of the KPT. He said the storage and handling of coal at so many sites in the midst of residential localities should be immediately stopped in order to safeguard the locals’ health.

While a number of coal-fired electricity schemes are being taken up across Pakistan, he added, the country does not have a policy to consume and safely dispose of hazardous waste being produced as a result of burning coal.  

‘Outdated resource’

Veno Advani, whose petition regarding air pollution is currently being heard by the Supreme Court, expressed surprise that Pakistan has initiated a number of coal-based power projects when the rest of the world has largely abandoned this energy resource due to it being a serious environmental hazard.

Advani said there are some 100 cities around the world whose energy needs, to a large extent, are met through renewable power resources, adding that such environmentally safe options should also be used for cities like Karachi.