Although air pollution is high rated in the city, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) has installed several diesel generators at water pumping stations in the metropolis without getting environment safety certificate.
Sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) was investing around Rs 7.6 million for installing seven diesel generators at water pumping stations aimed to meet power scarcity, and to ensure uninterrupted water supply to the citizens.
Analysing the current environmental condition of Karachi, they said that the effort of KWSB seems to be more dangerous than beneficial for the lives of inhabitants because generators are being installed without taking safety precautions for the surroundings.
Out of total number of generators, five have recently been installed, without getting environment safety certificates from concern department. These are situated at Ship-owners College, Five-Star roundabout, Pahaar Ganj, Khwaja Ajmer Nagri and North Karachi with power generation capacity of 350KVA, 350KVA, 350KVA, 1275KVA and 1275KVA, respectively. Installation work of two other generators, with capacity of 350KVA and 1275KVA, has been completed and both are about to be installed at Orangi and Saqi-Hassan pumping stations, respectively, they added.
They lauded the efforts of City Nazim Mustafa Kamal in maintaining smooth water supply to Karachi and said that "even though the effort is appreciated, these diesel generators are creating immense problems to the environment besides being hazardous for human health. They cited that around 90 percent of over 1.6 million population of Karachi is being affected by the burning fuel, causing ulcer, hypertension, even heart attack, while it may render a permanent injury to the respiratory system, besides hurting the lung tissues. It may also damage plant life and buildings, they concluded.
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