400m gallons of untreated sewage being dumped into sea

KARACHI: Nearly 400 million gallons of untreated sewage is being dumped into the sea on daily basis while a treatment plant S-III project was started 12 years ago but is yet to be completed.

The Geo News has pointed out the issue and Minister for Local Government Nasir Hussain Shah claimed that the delay in theproject was not only from the government side. He added that the project would be completed in 2020. The waste of a city of 20 million population was being dumped into the sea without any treatment that not only polluted the sea but also the city’s environment.

According to an estimation, nearly 400 million gallons of untreated sewage and sanitation waste was being dumped into the sea on daily basis and it also posed a serious threat to the aqua life. It is observed that various kinds of Aquatic plants were perishing, causing scarcity of food for the small species of sea which ultimately threatened the life of big species. The reproduction of tortoise was also compromised due to marine pollution.

The Geo News reported that the people are not aware of the danger of marine pollution and the daily waste dumping into the sea was very harmful for marine lives. Meanwhile, foreign importers had imposed a condition for future export that Pakistan would have to ensure to dump treated industrial waste into the sea or it might have to face an export ban.

The experts said pollution could not only be harmful for human beings but also for the aqua life, adding that if the government could not complete the S-III project soon, then the fishing industry would be destroyed because fish in the sea near Karachi would not be eatable. The S-III project was started 12 years ago to treat sewage and sanitation waste before dumping it into the sea but the project could not be completed yet, while the project cost had reached Rs36 billion.

Talking to the special transmission on marine pollution and its dangers, the provincial minister Nasir Shah said the Sindh government was not liable for delaying the project because when the project was started, the PML-N was in the Centre. He said when the feasibility report was sent to the federal government, it did not approve the report, adding that work on the Korangi treatment plant would be started on priority basis. The minister said he has written letters to the contractors of the project and directed them to complete the work as soon as possible. He said the plant should be completed much earlier, adding that the government would try to complete the project within 2020. He said if the project was not completed within the time, then strict action would be taken against the contractors.

Talking to the Geo News, the Adviser to the CM Sindh on Environment Murtaza Wahab said that everyone talked about issues but stakeholders were not taken on board. He said the sea line was controlled by the federal government and cantonment board, adding that earlier, the water commission was formed that had directed industries to build a treatment plant for industrial waste.