A FERTILISER factory located at Khanewal Road in Multan is a serious health hazard for the local population as enormous amount of poisonous pollutants are released directly into soil and environment, making the food chain poisonous, and air toxic.

During summers, people are forced to sleep on rooftops because of loadshedding. They have to bear sweltering heat if they choose to sleep in their homes, or have to face the horrors of air pollution if they opt to spend the nights in the open. It is like having to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. Environmental degradation has a range of adverse impacts on human health and socioeconomic aspects. We are inflicted very badly by the destruction of our environmental fabric owing to various reasons.

According to IQAir, a Swiss air quality company, Pakistan is the third most polluted country in the world. It has experienced the worst air quality in the central and south Asian regions in 2022.

While the government has been promoting better environment and the minister concerned is seen speaking on climate change at national and international platforms, there are factors at home which have been causing negative environmental impact on the lives of people. The case of the said fertiliser company is a case in point.

To have a safe, pollution-free environment is part of the constitutional package of fundamental rights. The residents of Z Town, Multan, have been urging the authorities concerned to direct the factory owners to take due measures in this regard, but there has been no progress in this regard.

Dr Muhammad Mehboob Hassan Khan
Multan

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2023