Departments failed to stop farming with polluted water, urban became victims of diseases

Lahore: Due to incompetence and lack of interest of the government institutions, polluted water from sewage and factories is being used for irrigation in various districts of Punjab including Lahore.

Citizens are suffering from various diseases including hepatitis due to the consumption of crops and vegetables cultivated with contaminated and poison, on the other hand, Punjab Food Authority says that crops and vegetables cultivated on 57 acres of area in different districts during this year have been destroyed. .

Hundreds of acres of agricultural land on both sides of the 54 km long Hudiara drain, which enters Pakistan from India in the eastern region of Lahore, from Lalu village near the Pakistan-India border to Padana, Hudiara, Barki to Maraka. It is irrigated only with drain water.

Local farmers irrigate their crops and vegetables by taking water from the drains through small pumps and then these crops and vegetables are brought to the city markets for sale. Apart from Hudiara drain, in other areas including Mehmood Boti, Sagian, Thokar Niaz Beg, polluted water from sewage and factories is being used for irrigation.

It should be noted that many vegetables including onion, cabbage, turnip, peas, mint, coriander, radish, cabbage, spinach, green chillies, ghee pumpkin, okra, fenugreek, ghee tori, capsicum, mongre are grown from polluted water.

Muhammad Ibrahim, a local farmer in Barki area, told The Express Tribune that electricity, fertilizers and sprays have become so expensive that it is no longer possible for a small farmer to grow crops or vegetables on 2-3 acres. Use water. That is why drain water is used, because after that there is no need to use fertilizer.

According to farmer Muhammad Ibrahim, ever since the creation of Pakistan, the local people have been cultivating crops with only the drain water. While the government has started saying only a few years ago that this water is polluted and dirty, so it should not be used for vegetable cultivation. Due to this, people now use less drain water, but this cycle has not ended completely. He said that now farmers cultivate fodder instead of cultivating crops with this water.

Another local farmer, Khairdin Mayo, said that it is not right to use polluted water from drains for crops, but we have no other option. Ground water level has gone down drastically and installation of tube wells is very difficult and expensive. Water is supplied through BRB Naharse Uplift Irrigation System for farming in border areas, but this facility is available only to few hundred farmers.

The use of water from this drain was banned by the government in 2009, while the Punjab Food Authority has also taken actions in the last few years, but despite this, the use of this water could not be stopped.

Vegetables cultivated with polluted water are brought to 2 major markets of Lahore, Badami Bagh and Kahana. According to the Punjab Food Authority, from January 1 to August 20 this year, an area of ​​1413 acres was inspected across the province, where 133 acres were being irrigated with sewage and polluted water from factories, while 57 acres were cultivated with vegetables. which have been destroyed.

According to the spokesperson of Punjab Food Authority, efforts are being made to stop the cultivation of contaminated and adulterated vegetables in collaboration with the local administration in each district. He said that cotton, flowers and such fodder can be cultivated from polluted water which are not directly used as food for humans and animals.

WWF Director General Hamad Naqi said that in the research carried out on Hudiara Drain, its water was found to be extremely harmful. The use of this water is too far away, even standing near it is dangerous for human health. During the research, it was also revealed that people in the villages living near the drain are suffering from hepatitis, eye and rash diseases.

This has also been confirmed by the local government primary health center doctor. In this regard, Dr. Shakeel Ahmed said that among the patients who come to him, especially children, they suffer from acute diseases, hepatitis and anemia. Women (especially pregnant women) also face many problems. As people here use ground water pumped by motor pumps for drinking, the disease rates are high among these people.

He said that the number of cadmium and chromium increases in the vegetables prepared from the very harmful water of the drain, which affects the lungs and kidneys of humans. These metals also stop the brain development of children, which causes anemia and anemia leads to many diseases.

Punjab Agriculture Department Director Extension Dr. Anjam Ali Butar says that the cultivation of vegetables and crops with polluted water is very dangerous. In this regard, an awareness campaign is also conducted among the farmers and they are also told about the dangers of using contaminated water.

He said that the dangerous chemicals and metals present in the polluted water continuously get absorbed into the ground and harden it in 4 to 5 years and destroy the fertility of the land. He said that now there has been a lot of reduction in this regard. Dr. Ranjam Ali Butar further said that the sewage water of houses is not as harmful as the sewage of factories is dangerous.