Pollution in Quetta city
Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan, was established as a military garrison
by British raj. It was planned to accommodate 100,000 people. Today, almost 140
years after its establishment, Quetta is home to approximately 3 million
people.In quetta 30 times more people than its capacity has taken its toll on
the city and a lot of municipal problems have surfaced.Quetta is not only the
capital city but also the only metropolitan city of Balochistan. People from all
31 districts of the province live in Quetta because it’s the only city where
living standards are comparatively better as compared to other districts. This
means that problems in Quetta affect the people of Balochistan as a whole.
In quetta Air pollution,is the number one problem.The atmosphere in the city is
so polluted that thick layers of the lethal gases like carbon - dioxide, lead
particles,etc always exist in the environment.Air pollution in and around Quetta
city is mainly caused by the rapidly increasing number of vehicles,especially
the smoke emitted from riksha,buses,trucks,vehicle,motorcycles etc.There are not
proper traffic management system in quetta city and there are limited road
space.
As far as industrial pollution is concerned,pollution is non-existent due to
absence of big industries. However, thick black smoke can easily be seen in and
around the localities of the district.Quetta is cup like shape because which is
surrounded the mountains.With regard to grey pollution, in the areas where gas
connections have not been provided so far, grey pollution exists, because people
use wood and animal dung for fuel purposes.Although Quetta city is of course the
most urbanized district in Balochistan.
The other major issues of Quetta city is solid waste.solid waste of Quetta was
850 tons /day. Solid waste contains both organic and inorganic
matter.Anthropogenic activities are responsible mainly for the production of
huge amount of solid waste. Any liquid containing container, paper,glass,
cardboard, paint boxes, plastic bags, toys,etc.which is useless and is removed
from houses,offices,and industries is solid waste.solid waste produced in houses
is thrown out in open containers or in open grounds. A simple method to reduce
the amount of solid waste and increase the capacity of the ground is to burn the
solid waste. The place where solid waste is thrown or dumped remains in a bad
condition which may promote many diseases in the area.The waste is dumped
directly in to the streets or anywhere outside home.In many areas of the quetta
city waste is dumped in street corners.
Water scarcity is at the root of the problem. Annual precipitation ranges from
50 to 500mm, with much of Balochistan lying outside the monsoon zone, and
evaporation rates are extremely high.The people of Quetta is over use of water
and there is no proper management of water.
These all are the problem of pollution in Quetta city.Now, attention the city of
Quetta, Pakistan, which is in the running for the title of most polluted city in
all over the world.