Pakistan: Despite court order, sewage being used for vegetable cultivation in Karachi

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 3 : Despite the strict directives of the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the cultivation of vegetables using sewage, the practice is still being carried out on the outskirts of the metropolis, a recent report by Sindh Food Authority (SFA) stated, Dawn reported.

The SHC had time and again issued clear directives to authorities to take action against the use of wastewater for vegetable cultivation particularly on the Malir river bed.

Untreated sewage being used in the cultivation of vegetables is leading to a number of diseases, including hepatitis and cancer, the experts said. They have also cautioned against the use of wastewater for vegetable production because these chemicals are absorbed by the vegetables along with the water, and this affects health.

The SFC compiled a fresh report after weeks of detailed surveys and field operations. It gives details of its operations this year in the city aiming to regularise the food business and ensure required compliance with relevant laws, Dawn reported.

Apart from inspecting regular food outlets, production facilities and eateries, teams of the SFA have also identified some 500 acres within the Karachi division, in the first phase where cultivation of mostly edible agriculture produce was underway by using untreated sewage.

Before devising any strategy, a top official said, the SFA was coordinating with agriculture experts and gathering more credible evidence in collaboration with the University of Karachi.

"We have so far only identified these areas in Karachi where the agriculture activities are going on using sewage," Dawn quoted the SFA director general Agha Fakhar Hussain as saying. "After collecting samples from these areas we are now coordinating with the University of Karachi to check all relevant details which are required before any action"

He said that sewage was being used for cultivating vegetables. "But still we are testing these agricultural produce in collaboration with experts so that no one could blame us for any unjust action when we move."

According to the SFA report cited by Dawn, SFA conducted raids, carried out inspections and held quality visits to different food businesses and issued challans to more than 45,000 such facilities to ensure quality and maintenance of hygiene, in less than six months.

Out of a total of 47,875 such actions this year so far, 18,982 were held against restaurants and catering centres, which were fined in order to ensure the required quality standards.

According to the report, sweet shops and bakers stood second in the category as 9,834 were issued challans for defying the required quality standards.

In the same exercise, the SFA has also 'discarded' some 92,000 litres of milk in different parts of the city after it found the commodity not fit for human consumption, Dawn reported.

51,000 kilograms of different spices as well as 64,000 kilos of 'Chinese salt' were also destroyed on the same grounds.