RAHIM YAR KHAN: Two fertiliser plants, five sugar mills and two ethanol factories in the district Rahim Yar Khan and around it are draining wastewater either into the open or canals and small water channels, causing environmental disaster for the area, posing risks to the health of people and livestock and damaging crops.

The critical issue was raised by PPP MPA Mumtaz Chang on the floor of the Punjab Assembly on Nov 11, 2024, saying that two big fertiliser factories were polluting the subsoil water, resulting in a change of its taste. He demanded that seven sugar mills were releasing untreated hazardous waste into water channels in the district, polluting the vital source of drinking and irrigation water.

According to the MPA, these factories and units include two fertiliser factories, Fatima Fertiliser Company Limited (FFCL) and Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC), six sugar mills, namely RYK Sugar Mills (RSM) Janpur, Liaqatpur, Hamza Sugar Mills (HSM), Jetha Bhattha, Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM), Kot Samaba, Ittehad Sugar Mills (ISM), Iqbalabad, Jamaldinwali Sugar Mills (JSM) Unit 1, Jamaldinwali, Unit 2 in Machi Goth, and Gulf Sugar Mills (GSM) in Sindh close toDaowala area of Punjab.

“Two ethanol factories near town of Manthar are polluting the subsoil water by draining effluents in the adjoining areas,” Mr Chang says.He alleges that all these factories and plants are owned by powerful, influential political and business figures, including Sharif family, Jahangir Tareen, Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Pervaiz Elahi and a Hindu community businessman from Sindh.

Plants, owned by those in power, dispose of wastewater into canals or open area

Chang says the fertiliser factories would initially take clean subsoil water through boring, store it in large ponds and, after using it, dump it into wastewater ponds on their premises.

“These factories are throwing wastewater into Adam Sahaba and Bagh-e-Bahisht canals. Later, the same water would seep into the ground, contaminating subsoil water.”

The MPA adds that the sugar mills are draining their hazardous waste into nearby canals as the GSM is throwing wastewater in Daowala Canal, JSM in Ahmed Wah and Roti canal, ISM in Kabeera minor canal, CSM in 3R minor canal and RSM in Khanbela canal while HSM in open area near railway track.He said thousands of residents of neighboring areas of Manthar had migrated to other areas due to toxic effluents and their pungent stench generated from the open ponds of ethanol plants.

Villayat Chaudhry, a farmer of village Goth Machi in Sadiqabad, says the wastewater of fertiliser factories is affecting the subsoil potable water, turning it toxic and making it unsuitable not only for human use but also for agriculture purposes and livestock.

“Until some years back, the local residents used to use underground water for drinking and agriculture but now it is impossible to drink water due to contamination,” he says while speaking to Dawn.

Farooq Ahmed, a resident of Jetha Bhattha, says Hamza Sugar Mills (HSM) had established a water treatment plant on the adjoining barren state land 10 years back but due to a political rivalry, the government uninstalled this plant. He says the government should strictly make it binding on all sugar mills to set up their wastewater treatment plants to save the people’s health as well as subsoil water.

He criticises the Environment Protection Department (EPD) for not checking and monitoring water disposal protocols of industries, terming it the main reason for contamination of subsoil

water.

However, a worker at the FFC, who did not want to be named, claims that the fertiliser plant is completely following all protocols of health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ). The used water is properly treated and drained into three-layered protected ponds, he adds.

District official focal persons of sugarcane farmers, appointed by cane commissioner of Punjab, Nasir Jamil and Mian Irshaad, had written many applications to the cane commissioner, RYK deputy commissioner, EPD district officer and senior engineer of the irrigation department against draining of the wastewater into canals but no action has been taken yet.

Irshad says when the irrigation overseer of Kot Samaba area visited the Chaudhry Sugar Mills and found it throwing wastewater into the 3R minor canal, he refused to take action, saying that it was owned by the Sharif family and he didn’t want to sacrifice his job.

When contacted, EPD Assistant Director Suraj Kumar said he was busy with some guests and would contact later but he didn’t respond for several days.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2024