F.P. Report
TANK: As the city is getting larger, the increasing population due to vehicular traffic has been posing threat to the residents besides numerous road accidents in the city and its close areas. Residents of the district Tank are much concerned about the curse of pollution caused by the traffic mess in the city.
The traffic pollution increased particularly after the introduction of auto rickshaws which replaced the horse-driven carts (tangas) some two decades ago. The mile long road of the city has been swelled with outnumbered registered and unregistered Qingqi auto rickshaws for the past 20 years as no mechanism to manipulate with the mounting traffic mess has ever been devised by the traffic authorities.
A painful fact is that in the absence of appropriate traffic system in the city, roads and streets of the city can be seen packed with heavy and light vehicles which cause air pollution and unbearable noise. If one visit this medieval look congested city, he will find the kilometer long sole road over crowded with different kinds of encroachment.
It is pertinent to mention here that a good number of auto rickshaws are driven by the then tanga drivers whose hand carts were replaced with these motorized three-wheelers that used substandard fuel, which emit smoke and pollute the air immensely. The air pollution has reached its alarming point causing throat infection, flue cough and different kind of allergy.
Dr. Yousaf Sultani a known physician and children specialist told that these vehicles emit toxic carbon- mono oxide which adversely affects every system of the human body including lungs. He added that the toxic emissions of vehicles have enormous effects on human health. According to him elderly people and children are more sensitive and they can easily fell victims to these emission. He informed that these emissions causing heart attack, sudden death, hypertension and lungs problems.
The survey further revealed that toxic emissions are also major cause of chronic bronchitis, diseases of respiration (asthma) lungs cancer and other respiratory problems. According to doctors, apart from this curse noise is also badly affecting human health that is why WHO has been asking for recognition of noise which directly affects central nerves system of children and infants in urban, adding that such kind of curse also lowering the I.Q level of children.
Meanwhile, the district Nazim Mustafa Khan Kundi, when contacted assured concrete steps to overcoming traffic related problems of the district besides getting over the curse of pollution. The residents of Tank city strongly condemned the district government as well as the local traffic administration for not taking serious measures regarding a comprehensive plan to overcome the traffic related problems. They have called upon the district government as well as provincial government and elected MPAs to get them rid of the menace of environmental pollution by chalking out permanent solution.
