Clueless still

Life in Pakistan is proving not just difficult but even cheap. What began on the evening of February 16, 2020, as reports of some noxious fumes or gas that produced breathing difficulties to residents in Keamari, Karachi, close to the port remains a mystery as to the origins of this gas or noxious substance. Contradictory reports and rumours still abound, with little or no authoritative account of what happened, why, and where responsibility for the tragedy should lie. The pattern of initial denials and later passing the buck from one institution to the other was on display once again in this tragic episode. First reports spoke of 'soya bean dust' being the culprit, a notion reinforced by some doctors treating the affected, but denied wholesale by the shippers body. So convinced were the authorities of this explanation that they ordered an alleged offending ship unloading soya bean at the port to be shifted away from the area. Subsequently, there have emerged a whole rash of speculative theories about the culprit substance, ranging from poisonous choking gas such as methyl bromide (used as a fumigant for food shipments) or even hydrogen sulphide and nitric oxide. Amidst this confusion authored by the lack of an expert and authoritative institution capable of sifting the facts and evidence scientifically and arriving at some definitive explanation, and while the autopsy reports on the dead victims are not yet available, the authorities failed to reach out to the residents of the stricken area, either to evacuate them, as the Sindh government 'ordered' without lifting a finger to implement it, or to mollify the panic and fear that gripped the area because of the toll of human life and health exacted by the still unknown substance. Naturally in the absence of an authoritative explanation from the authorities, the rumour mills worked overtime. The frustrated residents of the area finally came out in a protest in the streets, only to disperse after negotiations with and assurances from the government. First reports spoke of 14 deaths and 200-300 persons seriously affected. These figures have now been modified by the authorities to 10 dead and 400-500 affected, most of the latter still under treatment in the local hospitals.

Although reports speak of the situation on the ground getting better (meaning a significant drop in the number of new cases) and life in Keamari haltingly returning to normal, the tragedy serves to underline the risks citizens face from the lack of separation of commercial and industrial operations from residential areas, a closeness that risks further such 'accidents'. Secondly, the woeful inadequacy of institutions capable of identifying and dealing with such an outbreak points to the possibility of more such tragedies if timely steps are not taken in this regard. And last but not least, once the culprit substance has at long last been identified and its source determined, the reasons why the substance leaked and spread in the area must be ascertained and if human negligence or error is behind the tragedy, those responsible must be brought to book. Finally, the Sindh government would serve the people of Karachi well if it set up a high-powered body to investigate, analyse and report as soon as possible on other similar risks that may attend commercial and industrial operations cheek by jowl with residential areas and pre-emptive remedies for the same.