KARACHI: Wastewater recycling systems should immediately be introduced in Karachi to increase green cover without further depleting the scarce water resource of the city.
This was one of the unanimous demands of speakers who spoke at a moot titled “Climate change and our responsibilities” held at the Arts Council of Pakistan arranged by National Forum for Health and Environment (NFEH) in collaboration with Arts Council of Pakistan and EHS Services to mark World Environment Day.
The speakers were of the view that household wastewater could easily be recycled for its use to increase tree cover in the city.
They said that the city should have a proper mass transit system for catering commuting needs of Karachiites with minimal harm to environment. They said that proper mass transit systems should have been built in Karachi long ago but the same facility was still missing despite the fact that the provincial capital would soon be home to about 30 million people.
Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab, who was the chief guest, assured that they would try their best to improve the environment of the megacity.
He noted that graveyards in Karachi have ample green cover but there are sparse trees for the living people.
He said that he had planted a sapling in his house at times when his son and daughter were born and now these trees are as old as his children. He advised the citizens to adopt the same practice to improve environment.
CEO EHS Saquib Ejaz Hussain asked that work should be accelerated to complete the network of bus rapid transit systems in Karachi to control harmful vehicular emissions.
He said the wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms of houses shouldn’t go to the drain but instead recycled to cater water needs for tree plantations.
Senior journalist Afia Salam said that Pakistan ranked fifth on the global vulnerability index of the countries most affected by climate change. She said the government should wake up to the situation to tackle recurring heat waves.
Shabina Faraz, a writer, said that the mass transit system should be introduced in Karachi without any further delay.
She said the mass transit system would not just decrease the load of vehicles on the roads of the city but at the same time let hundreds of thousands of girls and women safely commute daily for their educational and job requirements. Dr Raza Gardezi, General-Secretary of Citizens for Environment, said that good personal habits like proper disposal of trash without throwing it away would contribute a lot towards the improvement of the environment. Former MPA, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi recalled that in past with the help of the then Director of Schools, late Anwaar Ahmed Zai, she had established 700 environmental clubs in Karachi schools to highlight the importance of good practices like energy and water conservation and tree plantation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022