Thread by @ammaralijan

We went to Kulalanwala and Kot Asadullah (on Multan Road) to meet locals and mobilize for the #climatemarch. The district is known for an acute crisis of polluted water.

The details we found were shocking beyond belief.

This thread has interviews of some of the affectees.

The area is now an industrial site. The adjoining villages are suffering as ground water is polluted by chemicals and waste from the factories. The major culprits are Honda and Wire Manufacturing factory. For years, the waste affected not only water but also agricultural produce.

For last twenty years, dozens of people have been experiencing bone deformities. The issue was first highlighted in 1998, but different governments have failed to remedy the situation despite multiple promises. Factories have refused to implement environmental regulations.

Locals know that water they drink is poisonous & know who culprits are. But they also know that factory owners are powerful and well connected. They claim that whenever they approach media, factories respond by firing workers employed from the villages to “teach them a lesson”.

Imagine the helplessness as people wash, drink and bathe in water they know has harmful chemicals. An entire community is forced to participate in self-annihilation. This is not a far-flung area. Its 20 mins from provincial capital. Shows scale of ecological breakdown we face.

We live in a system where private profit matters more than entire communities. Peripheral areas paying heaviest price for insatiable greed of elites. @NaomiAKlein called such spaces sacrifice zones as lives of locals are sacrificed to pursue mirage of endless growth.

Ppl from Kulalanwala are demanding their right to life. They are forefront of ecological breakdown and demand that govt impose strict environmenntal regulations on factories.

They are joining #ClimateMarch on 20th Sept in Lahore. Join and march with them. @ClimateActionPk