Karachi - Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar expressing concern on the approval of coal storage project in Bin Qasim area by Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) said that this would add to environmental pollution in Karachi.
In a statement issued on Friday, the mayor said that SEPA did not had the authority to take any step in contrast to the Supreme Court directives which had in its 2018 decision restrained coal imports at the Karachi Port Trust as it lacked a system to safely handle and store coal consignments and directed all authorities in Karachi that open coal shall not be stored anywhere in the city of Karachi.
He expressed concern that storage of coal in Bin Qasim town would cause environmental pollution and danger to not only people residing in surrounding localities but to other parts of city also.
The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency should have consulted the environmental protection associations and public before approving such a sensitive project. We, therefore in the larger interest of the city, demands that SEPA should consider its decision to save the city and province from dangerous environmental impact due to air pollution.