Pollution has made the Air Force and Navy suffer significant losses over the years.
Esp last year, which was quite bad for PAF losses; many reported bird hits.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\19\story_19-4-2007_pg12_8Navy **
Navy and Air Force fight city’s pollution
** * Birds attracted to garbage dumps around bases hit planes and kill pilots
- Submarines age faster in toxic seawater
KARACHI: The Pakistan Navy (PN) and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) have been facing losses worth millions of dollars due to environmental pollution in Karachi. The PN lost one billion dollars within 20 years and 12 fighter planes have crashed, elaborated Senator Nisar Memon.
At a press briefing Wednesday, these facts came to light as a result of the workings of a sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Defense and Production. Chairman Memon said that Karachi was facing a disastrous environmental problem as millions of gallons of sewerage, including industrial waste, were being drained into the sea without treatment and this was damaging sub-marines and ships in addition to the health of its citizens.
The age of PN submarines and ships had been reduced 10 years due to this problem.
The sub-committee consists of Senator Rukhsana Zuberi and representatives of the PN, PAF, City District Government, water and sewerage board, cantonment boards, chambers of commerce and industries, NGO Shehri, the Karachi Port Trust and other departments. They observed that the Lyari River, Malir River and other streams were transporting toxic drainage. To make matters worse, there are no treatment plants at chemical factories in SITE and other industrial areas.
The waste around the city and PAF bases has become dangerous for PAF fighter planes as the garbage attracts a large number of birds. Some of them can fly as high as 3,000 feet which becomes dangerous for the landing and take-off of the planes.
PAF’s Air Commodore Najam-ul-Asar disclosed that during the last 10 years, 2,300 incidents of birds hitting planes have taken place as a result of which 12 fighter planes, including F-16s, have crashed and two pilots have died. Also, PAF was spending Rs 35.5 million of its budget to clean the area around the bases.
The sub-committee has come up with three models for solutions. PAF has declared Masoor base dangerous for landing. All adjoining towns, including SITE, Baldia, Keamari, and Mauripur have been strongly advised to ensure that waste is dumped 10 kilometers away from the landing base.
Wedding halls around PNS Mehran have also been given the same instructions and the Malir Nullah which is a dumping site for the residents of Shah Faisal Colony and katchi abadies will be covered.
Four treatment plants are being constructed in the five industrial areas of the city. Memon accepted that the rise in pollution was also taking place because the city’s different civic bodies were not cooperating and coordinating with each other. The defense committee will submit its report to the Senate in May.