Pollution in Kasur crying for attention!

Earning from leather industry in Pakistan is 13,000 million per year. It is the third largest export sector of Pakistan whereas Kasur is the second largest leather producing city of Punjab. Kasur city is 55 kilometers away from Lahore. It is famous for the production of raw material which is exported within country as well abroad. It is well known for discharging of a large volume of untreated tannery wastes which causes pollution.

Leather processing plant is mainly a source of bread and butter for the local population which is about 0.3 million but on the other hand it is among the most contaminated cities of Pakistan Inhabitants of tanning areas and people around it are suffering from many diseases because of unavailability of pure water for drinking and other purposes. Din Garh is the main leather processing area of Kasur. There is no proper sanitary system to defuse the leather waste at government as well at domestic level.

There were only 180 tanneries which now have increased up to 300. Initially all the process was carried out manually and tanning was done by the bark of Oak trees. Later, it started to use toxic chemical which cast negative impact on the environment. Now the tanning is a very complicated process which involves more than 130 chemicals in different steps. Ground water is main source for drinking and other domestic purposes which are not only contaminated with metals but also by bacteriological contamination.

Health organisation has estimated about 80pc of all the sickness all over the world which is the result of inadequate sanitation. Over 150 tons solid tannery waste and 9,000 cubic meter heavily polluted water is discharged without treatment. Polluted water and industrial wastes have adverse effects on any beneficial use of water where urbanization and industrialization also causing to dump polluted water which is mixed with natural water and causing serious contamination in ground water of Kasur city.

In consequence environmental degradation is occurring as well it is also causing to increase serious threat to human and animal life. Water is great blessing of Allah Almighty. It has become a curse for the citizen of Kasur city owing to the presence of leather processing plant. On an average 25 million deaths occurs because of water related diseases, owing to discharge of highly toxic industrial waste to open fields BOD and COD values and wastes of tanning and fleshing have put Kasur in one of the heavily polluted cities of Pakistan as 400 acres of agricultural land is under leather industries waste water and 311 acres of fertile land was affected during moon soon period.

Health and safety during work is also among important issue for citizen of Kasur city. Unfortunately in all over the Pakistan involving Kasur city, very fewer industries are following the rules and regulations which are asked by the PTA and government. Awareness related health issues are still un-addressed. We should employ such modern techniques which are useful for the industrial growth as well for the lives of the workers. By adopting scientific and latest technologies, we can take benefit and enjoy the great income from leather industry. Besides recycling is an important factor which can cause to be cost effective, we must work in such a way; the waste of one industry is the raw material of the other industry.