Charcoal plant near houses threat to residents

CHITRAL: Charcoal plant installed near residential areas in Junalkoch, Upper Chitral, poised to create environment hazards.

About 3,000 houses and educational institutions are directly being affected by this plant including Junalkoch and Government Girls Degree College and its hostel situated near the plant due to air pollution that has engulfed most of the area.

A person can’t breathe fresh air for a single minute without wearing a mask in the nearby areas. It is difficult to imagine how the local residents would be able to live in such a polluted environment.

Talking to ChitralToday, Dr Karim of the Aga Khan Medical Centre Booni said carbon emitting from the plant is too much dangerous for the health of the local residents. There are too much barren lands where the plant could have been installed but fixing it near the residential areas did not make sense and it would definitely leave affects in the long run.

He said the impact of the pollution crested by the plant would include skin, heart diseases and respiratory problems.