The Lahore High Court has appointed a local commission directed him to submit report by September 14 after inspecting Chenab Nagar of Jhang, where some people and cattle died after consuming contaminated water drained out from a chemical factory in to a river.
The court summoned the DPO Sargodha on August 31 as he failed to appear before the court. These orders were issued while holding the suo moto proceedings on Chanab Nagar death incidences. The managing director of the Criston Lion Chemical Factory, accountable for excreting contaminated water without proper treatment, appeared before the court and claimed his unit was using modern technology for water treatment. He also said that no resident of the area had ever complained about the water while the petitioners were living 15 kilometres away from the factory.
The court appointed advocate Syed Mansoor Ali Shah as local commission and ordered the factory administration to submit a reply regarding the procedure being followed to treat wastewater.
The court took the note on an appeal filed by Shafqat Baloch and others. The appellant plead that the river was the only source of water for the inhabitants of different villages in Chanab Nagar, Jhang and the river drain served water to the cattle. However, from the last few months the factory administration had drained out contaminated water into that river drain.