Vegetables Being Watered With Industrial Effluent

Consuming vegetables grown along the Malir River is extremely hazardous for health, as the water used for agricultural purposes is mixed with industrial waste, The News has learnt. Hundreds of acres of land are being irrigated on both sides of the Malir River near Korangi Industrial Area and Shah Faisal Colony with industrial effluent of textile and other industries, and vegetables grown on these tracts of land are sold in the local market. Interviews conducted by The News with some senior physicians revealed that problems like cramps, diarrhoea, fever and skin allergies were rising due to the consumption of vegetables grown on hazardous, untreated industrial waste. “These vegetables, which appear very fresh and healthy as compared to vegetables coming from the upcountry, are extremely hazardous for health. We are warning people not to use them,” Dr Khurram Ali Khan, a gastroenterologist, told The News. Dr Khan said for the last two weeks, he had been seeing patients from Shah Faisal Colony and different localities of Malir with gastric problems, and most of them complained that they had consumed vegetables, either cooked or in raw form, that led to these problems. “When I investigated further, I found that vegetables coming from Malir are causing such problems. Everybody knows that these vegetables are grown on industrial waste water and sold in nearby areas of Korangi, Shah Faisal and Malir town,” Dr Khan said. The physician said he had been warning his patients to avoid these vegetables and especially the ones grown on industrial waste. “These vegetables actually have heavy metals and hazardous chemicals stored in them, and when they are consumed by human beings, these heavy metals cause serious gastric and skin problems,” he claimed. Dr Samina Shamsher, a homeopath, also said that people were falling sick by consuming contaminated vegetables. “I have had numerous patients with gastric ailments who said they had consumed vegetables a day before they got sick,” she said. Shamsher said that excessive use of fertilisers, insecticides and chemicals often made vegetables hazardous for humans. “We homeopaths normally ask patients about their diet, and it appears to me that most of the people who came to me with abdominal problems had consumed vegetables,” she said. Shahid Lutfi, who was associated with the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) a few years ago, also acknowledged the fact that extremely hazardous vegetables were being grown along the Malir River. “I had myself visited the areas around the Malir River, and after a thorough research, prepared a report for provincial high-ups, recommending to them to prohibit this practice of growing vegetables with industrial waste water,” he told this correspondent, adding that he considered this practice to be a crime. Lutfi said that waste water from textile industries that contained hazardous chemicals used in dying and bleaching was released into the Malir river without any chemical treatment, and this very effluent was used by the farmers. “Actually vegetables have a high uptake of heavy metals as compared to grains. These heavy metals as well as chemicals help these crops to grow rapidly, but at the same time they carry these hazardous chemicals,” he said. The environmentalist said that often vegetables grown on industrial waste were eaten in raw form like tomatoes, cucumbers and salad leafs and chemical and biological contamination in these vegetables caused serious health problems for the people. Criticizing Sepa for, what he called, overlooking this serious health and environmental issue, he said the authority should have brought this issue to the notice of the provincial government to stop this illegal practice. “It is not only the problem of Karachi or Pakistan alone but in the entire third world, poisonous fruits and vegetables are being supplied to common people in connivance with health and environmental protection authorities,” he alleged. During a visit to Shrafi Goth in Korangi and Malir river bed near Shah Faisal Colony, it was learnt that people there were aware of the health hazards of these vegetables grown on industrial effluent, but they sometimes had had no choice but to buy them because they were cheap. “Earlier, these vegetables were very popular in these areas, but when people learnt that they caused health problems, some people stopped using them. However, others still buy them as they are cheaper,” a local resident, Ashraf Ali, said. A Sepa official, however, told The News that it was not the responsibility of the organization to prevent irrigation along the Malir River done with industrial effluent. “Sepa’s responsibility is to prevent discharge of industrial waste into rivers and nullahs without treatment. In this regard, both Sindh and federal governments are planning to establish industrial treatment plants,” the official said. However, he had had no explanation why the factories were not issued show-cause notices and warnings to stop discharging their waste into the river.