The people of Keamari, particularly the commuters, are nowadays facing a potential health and environmental hazard, as over a dozen small mountains of coal are lying in the open and awaiting disposal at MA Jinnah Road from Jinnah Bridge to Khamis Gate for over last couple of weeks.
A visit of the area under the administrative control of Karachi Port Trust (KPT) would show that the two-way road is extensively powdered with a thick layer of powdery coal, which keeps blowing out all the way from speedy dumpers and trailers while transporting improperly-covered imported bulk cargo to its countrywide destinations from the Keamari-based KPT Coal Terminal. While KPT deems the cleanliness work to be the responsibility of City District Government Karachi (CDGK), the latter vowed to take up the issue of "constant environmental hazard" with the former.
It may be mentioned here that the KPT Coal Terminal that fetches handsome profits for the Karachi Port operator every year, has long been a matter of concern for the poverty-stricken people of Keamari, Manora, Baba Island, Bhit Island, Saleh Abad etc, where the number of patients with respiratory diseases, like tuberculosis, asthma etc, is rising fast tacitly.
The coal soot, which routinely blows with the wind onto the on-port vessels, boats, houses and every breathing human being living in or visiting the vicinity, is usually swept away and subsequently disposed off by the sweepers, but this time they have confined their cleanliness drive to the sweeping only letting the hazardous chemical, which is a major source of energy for cement and power producing companies, piled on the roadside. Every speeding vehicle or wave of a strong wind lets the small uncovered mountains of coal blow into the air, causing problems for the commuters, specially the bikers who are more exposed to the winds.
When contacted, Brigadier Jamshed Zaidi, KPT's General Manager Planning and Development Division, said CDGK was responsible for cleanliness of the city roads. However, he made it clear that KPT had issued strong instructions to the truckers to get their loaded vehicles covered from the top to prevent the leakage of coal. "I will personally visit the road tomorrow (on Tuesday) and if I found the piles of coal I would order the GM Operation to check it," the KPT official told Business Recorder.
On the other hand, City Naib Nazim Nasrin Jalil expressed her resolve to take up the issue that she termed a "constant environmental hazard" with the KPT. "I would write to them as the loaders must ensure that everything should be covered... cleanliness is of course our work, but it is a constant health hazard," she told Business Recorder. The City Nazim, however, could not be reached for comment.