Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wooden hearts and dark souls dont breed no sunshine
Today, i came across the following story about a factory in our city spewing toxic fumes that are a posing a serious health hazard to the residents of the area.
There have been complaints of asthma, blindness, TB and various other ailments that have been linked with the monstrosity. It is the story of a community bleeding at the hands of a corrupt nazim and a money hungry Seth and of the impotent authorities that could have saved them.
It never ceases to amaze me how low people can sink and how self serving they can be for the sake of a few extra rupees.
The Sunlight factory that continues to spread darkness
By Farooq Baloch
Karachi
Sometimes it seems that the government is blind to the plight of people. A factory continues to spew wood dust and death due to an faulty disposal system but despite the protests of area residents, neither the City Government nor the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has come to the rescue of the people. Instead, the area police has let the factory operate unhindered while those who protest against its functioning are picked up and harassed.
The Sunlight factory in Landhi, continues to fill the lives of many with darkness. The factory functions unhindered despite the fact that in the past couple of years, several people, many of them children, have been deprived of their eyesight and been afflicted with diseases such as asthma, tuberculosis (TB), chest and throat cancer. The emission of hazardous wooden ash and smoke from the Sunlight factory continues despite the hue and cry raised by area residents and NGOs fighting on behalf of the people.
The Sunlight factory, located along ‘8000 Road’ in Landhi Industrial Area, manufactures wooden plywood and compressed chipboards. Due to a technical fault in the plant, hazardous waste (wooden ash and smoke) that is supposed to be emitted into an underground tank, is released into the environment.
Due to this illegal and deadly emission, thousands of residents of nearby goths, hundreds of employees of neighbouring factories as well as motorcyclists and pedestrians on the main road are put at risk daily. Almost all the families in Sanwra Goth, that comes under the coverage of Shrafi Goth, have been affected with this deadly emission.
“My kids can’t see properly,” wails an aged man whose house is hardly 10 yards away from the chimney of the Sunlight factory.
He added: “When I took my children to a doctor and told him the story of the Sunlight factory, he advised me to change my house and reside at least 25 kilometers away from that factory or my children would fall prey to chest ailments.”
The man said that the worst season for his family was winter when the wind direction blew the wood particles into their house. “There is not a single family in this goth where the children are safe from this wood dust emission (Burada)” he lamented, adding, “If it was possible and affordable I would have shifted from here long ago.”
Nearby factories and residents of the area made several complaints to the authorities but to no avail. The Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd. (OGDCL), located next to the Sunlight factory complained to the Monitoring Cell, Karachi Region.
“A factory of wooden plywood and compressed chipboard is situated next to our boundary. Different drilling chemicals are stored in the compound. Wooden ash in bulk fell inside our compound along with smoke. Due to this reason there is a risk that the chemicals could catch fire resulting in destruction of our heavy equipment/vehicles, store and workshop offices and warehouse as well.”
Residents also gave their complaint to the district administration.”This factory was started by the name of Tiger Steel and changed its name to Sunlight. The owner of the factory imported machinery which was not allowed to be installed in a residential area. There is risk to our lives. If we complain, the owner threatens to hand us over to the police.”
A complaint was also sent to SEPA. “It has been observed with great concern that M/S Sunlight Wood Factory has been established inside the compound of Tiger Steel Mills, Sector No 20 Plot No 21 at Korangi Industrial Area near Sharafi Nek Muhammad Village few years back. Initially it was functioning smoothly, but later it increased its production without carrying out environmental safety measures. Its dust and small wood particles, along with unknown toxic chemical fumes are released into the environment. Due to this practice, old people and children are suffering severely, their eyes and lungs have been affected badly.”
The police have proved unhelpful despite the overwhelming evidence of pollution and its effect on peoples’ lives. A similar factory was operating in the same manner in Awami Colony few kilometers from the Sunlight factory. But due to the efforts of locals, this factory was closed. While many other wood factories that manufacture chip boards are also operating in the same area and in Korangi, they all have underground tanks and the residents have no complaints.
There have been complaints of asthma, blindness, TB and various other ailments that have been linked with the monstrosity. It is the story of a community bleeding at the hands of a corrupt nazim and a money hungry Seth and of the impotent authorities that could have saved them.
It never ceases to amaze me how low people can sink and how self serving they can be for the sake of a few extra rupees.
The Sunlight factory that continues to spread darkness
By Farooq Baloch
Karachi
Sometimes it seems that the government is blind to the plight of people. A factory continues to spew wood dust and death due to an faulty disposal system but despite the protests of area residents, neither the City Government nor the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has come to the rescue of the people. Instead, the area police has let the factory operate unhindered while those who protest against its functioning are picked up and harassed.
The Sunlight factory in Landhi, continues to fill the lives of many with darkness. The factory functions unhindered despite the fact that in the past couple of years, several people, many of them children, have been deprived of their eyesight and been afflicted with diseases such as asthma, tuberculosis (TB), chest and throat cancer. The emission of hazardous wooden ash and smoke from the Sunlight factory continues despite the hue and cry raised by area residents and NGOs fighting on behalf of the people.
The Sunlight factory, located along ‘8000 Road’ in Landhi Industrial Area, manufactures wooden plywood and compressed chipboards. Due to a technical fault in the plant, hazardous waste (wooden ash and smoke) that is supposed to be emitted into an underground tank, is released into the environment.
Due to this illegal and deadly emission, thousands of residents of nearby goths, hundreds of employees of neighbouring factories as well as motorcyclists and pedestrians on the main road are put at risk daily. Almost all the families in Sanwra Goth, that comes under the coverage of Shrafi Goth, have been affected with this deadly emission.
“My kids can’t see properly,” wails an aged man whose house is hardly 10 yards away from the chimney of the Sunlight factory.
He added: “When I took my children to a doctor and told him the story of the Sunlight factory, he advised me to change my house and reside at least 25 kilometers away from that factory or my children would fall prey to chest ailments.”
The man said that the worst season for his family was winter when the wind direction blew the wood particles into their house. “There is not a single family in this goth where the children are safe from this wood dust emission (Burada)” he lamented, adding, “If it was possible and affordable I would have shifted from here long ago.”
Nearby factories and residents of the area made several complaints to the authorities but to no avail. The Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd. (OGDCL), located next to the Sunlight factory complained to the Monitoring Cell, Karachi Region.
“A factory of wooden plywood and compressed chipboard is situated next to our boundary. Different drilling chemicals are stored in the compound. Wooden ash in bulk fell inside our compound along with smoke. Due to this reason there is a risk that the chemicals could catch fire resulting in destruction of our heavy equipment/vehicles, store and workshop offices and warehouse as well.”
Residents also gave their complaint to the district administration.”This factory was started by the name of Tiger Steel and changed its name to Sunlight. The owner of the factory imported machinery which was not allowed to be installed in a residential area. There is risk to our lives. If we complain, the owner threatens to hand us over to the police.”
A complaint was also sent to SEPA. “It has been observed with great concern that M/S Sunlight Wood Factory has been established inside the compound of Tiger Steel Mills, Sector No 20 Plot No 21 at Korangi Industrial Area near Sharafi Nek Muhammad Village few years back. Initially it was functioning smoothly, but later it increased its production without carrying out environmental safety measures. Its dust and small wood particles, along with unknown toxic chemical fumes are released into the environment. Due to this practice, old people and children are suffering severely, their eyes and lungs have been affected badly.”
The police have proved unhelpful despite the overwhelming evidence of pollution and its effect on peoples’ lives. A similar factory was operating in the same manner in Awami Colony few kilometers from the Sunlight factory. But due to the efforts of locals, this factory was closed. While many other wood factories that manufacture chip boards are also operating in the same area and in Korangi, they all have underground tanks and the residents have no complaints.
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