KARACHI: Large quantities of coal being dumped on a tract of railway land along the main Mauripur Road poses serious threats to public health and safety, it emerged during a visit to the site on Wednesday.

The place is situated close to Mohammadi Colony, better known as Machhar Colony, one of the least developed settlements of the city, which is already facing a host of problems, including an acute lack of sanitation, water shortage and absence of a drainage system.

Residents of the colony spoke to Dawn, complaining that continued dumping of coal had aggravated the health crisis people had been facing.

“It has almost been a year. Initially, a small space was utilised for dumping coal but now, as you can see, a large area has been turned into mountains of coal,” said Noor Ahmed, an old fisherman and resident of Machhar Colony.

Mr Ahmed, a hepatitis patient, has also recently developed breathing problems, which he blames on the flying coal dust. “It’s not that we have become used to living in garbage. We are also part of this city, contributing our bit to its development, and deserve better treatment. Some of us want to complain about this but we don’t know who to contact,” he said.

Residents regretted that their settlement, mainly inhabited by poor labourers, had not received government attention and, consequently, its civic issues had become grave with the increase in population.

Amidst the filth and piles of coal, some workers were also found drying trash fish and shrimps. The dried waste is used in poultry feed.

According to sources, the imported coal is apparently being dumped by companies which were earlier using Karachi Port Trust’s open storage facility in Keamari. Some of these companies are dumping their coal in the open in the Hawkesbay area.

“The KPT, along with other directives, was restricted by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) over a year ago to minimise their coal storage from 940,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes by maintaining the height of stockpiles up to five metres.

“The intervention was made after residents affected by coal handling in Keamari complained to the agency and took the case to court,” a Sepa official said.

Endorsing these points, a Karachi Port Trust (KPT) official said that the court had also directed the companies to have their vessels unload up to 5,000 tonnes of coal at the KPT and the remaining coal be taken to the Port Qasim.

“The court had also imposed a fine of Rs28 per tonne on violation of this condition, besides making court permission mandatory for unloading coal at the KPT,” he said, adding that some companies were dumping coal at other places to avoid the fine.

The railway department, according to him, had been using the Wazir Mansion Railway Station (the one along the Mauripur Road) to transport coal to other parts of the country for a long time. “There have always been some piles of coal in that area. But with a massive increase in demand, the coal piles have increased there,” he said.

Looming disaster

On the impact of coal dust on health, Saquib Ejaz Hussain, an environmental specialist said that coal dust can cause a range of health problems, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.

“Fine particles penetrate deep into the lungs and are difficult for the body to expel. Over time these particles accumulate and do more damage. Epidemiological research suggests that there is no threshold at which health effects do not occur,” he said.

According to him, experts recognised PM2.5 [particulate matter] from the coal dust as a major air pollutant and health hazard. “People living far from the site are also at risk when large amount of coal dust is blown far and wide by the wind.”

Stockpiles of coal in hot weather conditions, he said, were also prone to spontaneous combustion that could lead to serious fires.

A railway official, however, rejected concerns related to public health and safety and said the coal was kept there for a short period and transported to its destination in a day or two.

“The export quality coal is covered when transported here from the port in trucks and then it is shifted up-country. The railway receives freight charges for coal transportation and fines the company in case of delay in lifting the coal,” he said, adding that the department was never approached by Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) over this issue.

Director general Sepa said: “Stocking coal in the open especially in a residential area is a violation of the law. The department has recently been informed of this particular case and letters will soon be sent to the railway department and the Karachi Port Trust.”

The department, he said, would first identify the organisation/company involved in dumping coal and then take action.

“We need to get into the detail of this matter. Our first directive to the concerned party, however, will be the immediate removal of coal,” he pointed out.

The department, he said, had earlier taken notice of the havoc being caused by the KPT coal terminal and forced the organisation to restrict stocking coal to a certain limit.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016