FIR lodged on toxic waste dumping after child’s death
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, May 5: The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency lodged an FIR with the Site police on Friday over the dumping highly toxic industrial waste in an open area, which claimed the life of a nine-year-old boy and caused injuries to 14 other children of Abidabad, SITE Town.
The agency has collected samples of the dumped waste, believed to be a strong acidic sludge, for tests.
“The results of laboratory tests, which will take a day or so, will give a clue to the industry or factory involved in the criminal dumping of hazardous material in an open area,” SEPA Director Dr Iqbal Saeed said.
A 10-year-old boy, Shiraz, who had been admitted to the National Institute of Child Health, with three others on March 16, for treatment of chemical burns, was operated upon for amputation as he had developed gangrene in his feet.
Nine-year-old Iftikhar had died of the injuries at the same hospital in April, said a senior doctor.
According to area people, dumpers had been throwing effluents in their vicinity but due to ignorance they did not notice that it was hazardous waste.
