Not just the air quality, but the river flowing through Punjab is also one of the most polluted in the world.
Research has found the Ravi river in Pakistan to be the most polluted river in the world. The study was conducted by the University of York and published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.
In its study, the University of York monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries across all continents to quantify the presence of pharmaceutical ingredients – paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and epilepsy and diabetes drugs – in these ecological environments.
The highest mean cumulative concentration was observed in Lahore at 70.8 µg/L, with one sampling site on the Ravi River reaching a maximum cumulative concentration of 189 µg/L.
Waterways in Bolivia and Ethiopia also secured top position among the most polluted rivers while rivers in Iceland, Norway and the Amazon rainforest were the cleanest.
Expressing her concern on the findings of the report, environmentalist Afia Salam said the River Ravi had been turned into a drain with human and industrial wastes. “We have laws about dumping wastewater and industrial wastage but no law is being implemented in the country,” she said, adding that if the government implemented the waste disposal laws, it would bring betterment in ground and river water.
India was also creating problems for the Ravi by diverting the Hudiyara drain towards River Ravi, she continued.
Afia regretted that the construction of the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project would further increase the pollution.
