ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change on Wednesday said one year ago the government had assured the committee that it would get conventional brick kilns converted to modern zigzag technology to make it environment friendly.

But the committee was disappointed to learn that in Islamabad out of 63 kilns only 10 had been converted to zigzag technology.

In zigzag kilns, bricks are arranged to allow hot air to travel in a zigzag path. The zigzag design also ensures uniform distribution of heat, increasing the share of Class I bricks to about 90pc. It also reduces emissions considerably.

Chairperson of the committee Senator Sitara Ayaz was vexed over the delay. The committee had long been demanding that the capital city should be a flagship in this regard for all provinces to follow.

Similarly, Senator Sherry Rehman emphasised the importance of introducing new brick kilns which would cut air pollution by 70pc.

The committee was briefed by the ministry officials on the environmental impact of brick kilns and measures taken to curb operations in nearby residential areas.

However, the ministry officials informed the committee of the challenges that it faced at present.

According to the officials, kiln owners were facing difficulty in converting the kilns to zigzag technology as most land on which the kilns are established is leased. This is a hindrance while processing of loans because they lack ownership documents, the officials informed the members.

The problems faced by small and medium size kilns were worse. According to the ministry, another major obstacle was that zigzag technology requires 24/7 electricity supply and the areas where these brick kilns operate faced 20-22 hours of power outages.

“Dedicated transmission lines are imperative for this purpose. The Covid-19 situation and heavy rainfall are other impediments that have delayed the process,” said an official.

However, the committee recommended that an approach be adopted to phase out the conventional kilns.

Legislation to penalise brick kiln owners that fail to adopt zigzag technology within a given time frame must be formulated as well. This will ensure implementation on a large scale, Ms Sitara Ayaz said.

The committee also reviewed the Islamabad Wildlife (protection, preservation and management) amendment bill 2020, which will be taken up in the next meeting. The plight of animals in Islamabad Zoo, vehicular air pollution and glacier lake outburst floods (GLOF) were also discussed.

Discussing the plight of animals at Islamabad Zoo, the committee was displeased with the recent deaths of a pair of lions, blue bulls and ostriches and ordered a probe into the matter.

The animals were being shifted to supposedly better sanctuaries, under Islamabad High Court orders. The pair of loins died after zoo authorities resorted to a primitive manner to shift animals from the zoo to a lion breeding sanctuary. Handlers at the zoo poked the lions with sticks to force it out of its enclosure into a cage to transfer the lions. When the poking failed, handlers lit fires inside the cage to scare it out. Suffocation, stress of traveling and extreme weather conditions became the causes of the deaths of the lions. The lions died during the journey. Conservationists had advised against shifting animals in the summer season.

Parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman said: “The lions’ cage was set on fire to counter the cats’ aggression. It cost both lions their lives. Animals are abused and caged in small spaces. Caretakers, zoo staff and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board are criminally negligent in their duties. Many other animals like ostriches and bulls have also died during their relocation from Islamabad zoo. This brutality needs to be stopped.”

The committee felt that management of zoos in a typical bureaucratic manner was a major impediment to animal well-being.

Chairperson Senator Sitara Ayaz was of the view that closure of the zoo is not an appropriate response to issues that stem.

She said getting to the root of the problem and resolving it is key to progress. The Committee stressed that in case of closure of the zoo, in wake of the Islamabad High Court decision of uncaging animals, alternatives must be explored.

Meanwhile, a three members team has arrived in Islamabad to assess Kaavan’s health before he can be shifted a 25,000 acre elephant sanctuary in Cambodia.

“The team will sedate the aging elephant before performing health checks,” said Chairman Islamabad Wildlife Management Board Dr Anisur Rehman.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2020