PHMA Secretary Dodhy says pollution & waste are silent killers

13 Feb '06

3 min read

Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) Secretary Sohail Raza Dodhy said rapid growth of population in Pakistan (average annual growth rate of 3.10 percent per annum) and sustained GDP growth rate (of about 6 percent per annum) have put enormous pressure on the country's natural resource base and have significantly increased levels of waste and pollution.

Pakistan Medical Research Council recognized that a large proportion of diseases in Pakistan are caused by the consumption of polluted water and air.

The urban areas of Pakistan generate more than 60,000 tons of solid waste, out of which more than 60 percent is left uncollected in open places or in the drains and waterways.

The waste spills out of the uncovered containers which are mostly transported in Pakistan from one place to another and a lot of garbage falls in the streets and roads before reaching the landfilling.

No doubt, Industrial development is vital for the economy of Pakistan. In all industrial cities of Pakistan, inappropriate designed industrial planning and programs resulted pollution in which wastewater, chemicals and gases are the most notable.

In the current scenario, the earthquake hit an area of extreme environmental vulnerability within Pakistan. Apart from the huge losses in life and property, badly disrupting the socio-economic activities, there has been considerable damage to the biophysical environment.

This includes the destruction caused by the land and mudslides that continued after the main earthquake due to the frequent aftershocks; siltation of rivers and streams; damage to both natural and man-made water channels rendering them unusable for irrigation purposes; damage to the forest resources, essentially due to landslides and rockfalls; damage to agriculture land - especially that on the slopes - roads, water mills and fish farms; and finally, the huge amount of debris, the safe disposal of which poses a major environmental challenge.

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