As the Punjab government has shelved its multi-billion dollar project to cover open drains in the city, such drains along educational institutes, including private universities and elite schools, continue to cause students various health hazards, Pakistan Today has learnt. Varsities including Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Comsats, Beaconhouse National University (BNU), and the University of Lahore (UoL) are situated along open drains. Not to mention Crescent Model School, Lahore Grammar School (LGS), Beaconhouse School System, Alma Mater and College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM).
Toxic gases emitted from these drains can cause several deadly diseases including skin cancer and tuberculosis (TB). Chemical examiner Ahmad told Pakistan Today that poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are some of the deadly gases emitted through drains. There are 12 big drains, 70 secondary drains and 100 roadside drains in the city. A property dealer, Mujahid, told Pakistan Today that the prices of property beside open drains are 20 percent cheaper and therefore these institutes prefer to buy the land near drains. He said that the newly-built branches of elite schools in Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) phase V are also alongside open drains.
A medical practitioner, Dr Hamid Butt, told Pakistan Today that toxic industrial pollution can cause various fatal diseases including skin cancer. He said that the children are more vulnerable to these diseases as they have lesser sense of hygiene. Continuous exposure and inhalation of these gases may also cause lung cancer and eye infections, he added. Students and their parents have expressed deep concern over the issue. They claim that these schools charge thousands of rupees in monthly fees but still prefer to buy cheap land at the expense of students’ health. Umer, a Crescent Model School student, said he had caught throat infections several times and the smell of drain had always irritated the students. An Alma Mater student, Ali Baig, said that most of the students who study in his academy were Aitchisonians, but the issue of drains had never been addressed.
Blaming the Punjab government for the issue, citizens said that the plan of covering drains should never be abandoned. A citizen namely Zubair said it was lamenting that schools have turned a deaf ear to a litany of complaints made by concerned parents. Talking to Pakistan Today, a WASA official said that open drains were easier to clean but WASA was having difficulty cleaning them due to encroachments along the drains. A LUMS official, seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that they have requested DHA, WASA and irrigation department officials time again and again to solve the issue but to no avail. “The drain is problematic for the varsity but the ball is in now DHA and WASA’s court,” he said.
Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) Deputy Director Naseem-ur-Rehman said that the EPD has warned WASA on a number of occasions and have asked the authorities concerned to install treatment plants on drains in order to save the environment. He claimed that EPD’s performance was satisfactory but there might be financial constraints preventing the authority from installing treatment plants. Punjab School Education Department Secretary Aslam Kamboh the problem of open drains was very serious and needed to be addressed on a priority basis. He said that in a city where there are dozens of open drains it was difficult to find an ideal piece of land. Farooq, an engineering student at the COMSATS University situated on Defence Road, said that the industrial waste discharged into the drain alongside their varsity was posing serious heath hazards.
