A plan is afoot to check pollution at the Lahore Canal stretching over 82 kilometres from Harbanspura to Thokar Niaz Baig in a bid to save the endangered ecological system, Pakistan Today has learnt. Sewage discharge, waste dumping and vehicular traffic stocking air pollution are the major causes of the pollution along the more-than-a-century-old canal constructed during the British era in 1861 to irrigate Lahore and its surrounding areas by slicing Banbawali Ravi-Bedian (BRB) canal near Jallo.
The canal ends at Bhaipheru (Khanke Mor village in Kasur). Under the plan, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) will lay down trunk sewers along both sides of the canal from Thokar Niaz Baig to Mohlanwal Bridge, while TMAs will lay down trunk sewers from BRB to Harbanspura. Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) will place dustbins/containers, according to the area’s demand, discouraging people from throwing waste into the canal.
Environment Protection Department (EPD) has worked out the anti-pollution strategy for the plan after its survey revealed that biological oxygen demand (BOD) level at the canal was high from the standard values. As a part of the plan, EPD Director General Dr Shagufta Shahjahan sent 12 legal notices to WASA, TMAs and other societies under the Section 16 of PEPA Act of 1997. Environment Protection Orders will be issued and in case of non-compliance, cases will be sent to Environmental Tribunal under Section 17 of the act.
DUMPING POINTS: According to an Environment Protection Agency (EPA) official, the following dumping waste points into the canal have been identified: Sozo Water Park near Jallo Park, Rizwan Garden Housing Society near Kara village, Nazir Garden Housing Scheme near Jallo, Tulspura village and Mochipura opposite Rehmanpura village, Hajveri Housing Scheme, Rehmanpura Kachi Abadi, Fast Cable at 7 Canal Bank, Nawabpura village, Mustaq Khan Carpet Washing Centre, Rehman Traders, Hayat Carpet Washing Centre, Gulistan Colony Kalandarpura, Tajpura Kachi Abadi, Mohallah Amartsari near Mughalpura, Wasa Sewage Disposal Station near the Irrigation Department in Mughalpura, the PSO petrol pump at Thokar Niaz Baig, Metro Cash and Carry at Thokar Niaz Baig, a hotel near Malik Traders, Al Shamia CNG, Omer CNG, Chung Kachi Abadi and others.
HIGHLY POLLUTED: Data revealed that the canal was receiving a considerable amount of physical and chemical pollutants at different points. As per the physicochemical analysis of the water samples collected from the canal to evaluate pollution load at different points of the canal, the ‘p’ values for dissolved oxygen (DO) revealed that chemical oxygen demand (COD), BOD, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, oil and grease, sulphates, and nitrates are 0.05, while p value of temperature, pH, and chlorides are 1.000, 0.984, and 0.070, respectively.
PLAN MAKING: Meanwhile, a meeting was held at Punjab EPD’s office regarding the canal’s pollution on Thursday. Environment Secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiana presided over the meeting, which was attended by high officials from Irrigation, WASA, LWMC and TMAs of Wahga Town and Aziz Bhatti Town. The meeting revealed that the following 12 inlets were connected to the canal: Sozo Water Park, Rizwan Garden Housing Society, Canal Bank Road near Jallo Park, Lahore Medical Housing Scheme phase 1, 2 and 3, Hajveri Housing Society, Tulspura Abadi, Nawabpura, Gujjar Colony, Nazir Garden, Rani Pind and Chung village.
In these inlets, housing societies discharged solid and liquid waste into the canal. The irrigation and power department also used water from the canal for irrigation, the meeting discussed. “After the case against WASA regarding sewage discharge into the canal was sent to the environmental tribunal, WASA laid parallel sewage pipe channels from Harbanspura interchange to Shalimar Flyover. The sewage of this area is now discharged into the Sukh Naher drain,” the meeting discussed.
Meeting also pointed out that because there was no sewage drain in the proximity of the canal from Thokar Niaz Baig to Mohlunwal, the housing colonies and some industrial units stealthily discharged their effluents through tankers. “Team of the environment district office demolished many sewage inlets, which caused sewage to make cesspools on the green belts and on the roads owing to absence of drainage infrastructure. WASA and Aziz Bhatti Town Administration would lay sewage system to check the mess,” an EPA official said.
