Muhammad Bilal Yasir
In the Mandal area of the Bajaur district, the wastewater coming out of the marble factories has put the local people in trouble. Contaminated water has not only made the land uncultivable but also caused irreparable damage to aquatic life.
Abdul Rehman, a journalist from Mandal Bajaur, expressed his concern over the wastewater coming out from the marble factories located in the area. He stated that thousands of acres of land have been rendered uncultivable by poisoned water from marble factories in Bajaur while further destruction continues.
He added that the polluted water is contaminating clean water and killing aquatic life, including fish. The district administration remains a silent spectator of the toxic water coming out of these factories. Immediate steps should be taken to dispose of this dirty water.
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There are more than fifty marble factories in various places in Bajaur, providing employment to hundreds of people. While there are large deposits of marble in the mountains of Bajaur, the chemical waste released during its cutting and manufacturing is discharged into the river channels, posing a serious threat not only to aquatic life but also to the natural environment. The water flowing in the waterways is contaminated, posing a threat to humans and agricultural lands.
These factories were established after 1998 in the Tani area of Mamoond tehsil, Sheikh Kalay area of Khar tehsil in Bajaur, which increased with the passage of time. The waste from more than 50 marble factories established in these areas is dumped in the nearby rivers. This contaminated water further joins the clean water canal (a ravine) coming from Nawagai and Mamoond which had clean water springs at places that dried up due to this waste, and the flowing clean water also became cloudy.
President of Marble Factory Association Tufail Khan stated that when setting up a marble factory, the owner is bound in writing that they will dispose of the chemical waste themselves. The government imposes fines on them from time to time, but no system has yet been devised at the departmental level to estimate how much waste is dumped into these rivers daily.
Kaleemullah Khan, an environmental worker, says that according to the law, it is necessary for every marble factory to build a safety tank. The water released from the boring will be collected in this safety tank after use. If a factory does not follow this, legal action will be taken against them, but no permanent action has been taken against these factory owners because FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa only a few years ago, after which departments started shifting here, so far there is no environmental protection office and organization in the area.
Environmentalist Kifayatullah believes that factories are necessary for the country, but those setting up factories will also have to take care of the environment and follow the laws made for it. He said that if any factory is polluting the water, air, or land environment, legal action should be taken against it. He added that for violating the relevant laws, the Environmental Protection Tribunal fines the factory owners a small amount, after which the factory continues to pollute the environment and water bodies.
Imran Mahir, a prominent business leader of Bajaur, stated that he has met with the relevant authorities several times along with the factory owners to dispose of the waste from these factories, but only promises have been made, and no action has been taken yet.
He suggested that if a site is earmarked for the dumping of waste from these factories near these factories, then this problem can be solved in a good way.
