ISLAMABAD, Feb 16 ( Alliance News): Not only the wind but also the river flowing in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, has become the most polluted river in the world.
According to the study of pharmaceutical contamination in the world’s rivers, published by the American Proceedings National Academy of Sciences.
The study found waterways in Lahore, Bolivia and Ethiopia to be the most polluted, while rivers flowing through the forests of Iceland, Norway and the Amazon were found to be the cleanest.
Expressing concern over the latest revelations about river pollution, environmentalist Aafia Salam said that the river Ravi has turned into a sewer due to human and industrial waste.
He said that there are laws in our country regarding disposal of wastewater and industrial waste but no law is being followed in the country.
He added that if the government implements waste disposal laws, it will improve groundwater and river water.
Expressing regret, he added that the present government was also planning to build a city on the river bank (Ravi River Front Urban Development Project) which would further increase pollution.
Regarding the neighboring country’s plan, he said that India was also creating problems for the Ravi by diverting the Hodiyara canal towards the Ravi.
Lahore Conservation Society Information Secretary Dr Ijaz Anwar told Dawn that under the Indus Water Treaty, India was withholding clean water and dumping dirty water in Ravi.
“We also allowed untreated wastewater into the river while dumping the waste in and around the river,” he added.
Referring to the government’s plans to build a new city, the Ravi River Front Urban Development Project, Dr Ijaz Anwar said that they were planning to launch a protest campaign against the government’s move. How can it be made? And it will also affect the water level of Lahore city.
In a recently recorded video, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that the Ravi River Front project would turn the economy around and benefit about 40 industries in the country, creating jobs for thousands of people and providing valuable foreign exchange. I will increase.
He added that about ً 15 billion in foreign investment for the project had already reached Pakistan.
He further said in his statement that this project is not only to build a housing society but also to build another city under Islamabad as planned, this project will save Ravi, because under this project dirty. The water will be treated by a treatment plant before being discharged into the river.
According to a report by the Asian Development Bank on the Ravi River Rehabilitation Project, the condition of the Ravi River and its canals poses a serious threat to the health of the surrounding residents.
The report said that massive contamination of water would cause internal and skin water borne diseases in people of all ages and if measures were not taken then the spread of diseases would be greatly increased.
The report points out that due to rapid urban population, increase in industrialization and reduction in wastewater treatment, large quantities of toxic substances flow directly into the Ravi River from Lahore, Sheikhupura and Faisalabad.
The latest study by New York University on pharmaceutical contamination in the world’s rivers states that the Ravi River in Lahore is the most polluted in the world and a threat to the environment and human health.
