Coastal beauty ruined by trash

KARACHI:

In any coastal town, the beach is the primary location, offering a serene recreational area where people can spend lazy days and enjoy lively evenings. But when institutional neglect and a lack of public awareness turn coastal areas into dumping grounds, families hoping to stroll along the coast end up tiptoeing around a beach of trash.

While there is a solid waste collection system within the Cantonment Board limits at Clifton Beach, cleaning is not done regularly. In municipal areas, however, there is virtually no cleaning mechanism in place. As a result, much of Karachi’s coastline remains neglected.

Karachi has approximately 75 kilometers of coastline, where land control is shared between federal and provincial authorities, municipal bodies, cantonment boards and private entities. Great picnic spots along this stretch include Clifton Beach (Sea View), Hawksbay, Sands Pit, Turtle Beach, Sunehri Beach and French Beach.

Marine pollution has quietly become one of Karachi’s most entrenched urban problems, raising repeated concerns in local media but little sustained response on the ground. Despite having Pakistan’s longest urban coastline and serving as the country’s main port city, Karachi continues to release large amounts of untreated sewage, industrial waste and solid waste into the Arabian Sea on a daily basis.

A Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) official who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that the land along the coastline was controlled by several entities including Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim, provincial revenue department, Karachi Fish Harbour, DHA, Clifton Cantonment Board, Manora Cantonment Board, KMC, Karachi Town Development Authority and other government agencies, Maripur Town Development Authority and other government agencies. institutions.

“Parts of Clifton Beach come under the jurisdiction of the Clifton Cantonment Board (CBC) where a cleaning system exists, while areas under the KMC have no formal sanitation arrangements,” the official said. Conversely, a CBC spokesperson noted that Clifton Beach and Sea View within the cantonment boundaries were cleaned daily and trash cans had been installed for the convenience of visitors.

Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) CEO Tariq Nizamani claimed that the board was responsible for sanitation in coastal residential areas that fall under municipal limits, but not for picnic spots such as Clifton Beach. “But if we are formally approached, we can start cleaning there as well,” he said, adding that the board was currently managing sanitation in coastal settlements including Lala Bhakar, Baba Bhit, Shamspir, Keamari and Ibrahim Hyderi.

Maripur Town UC-2 Lala Bhakar Chairman Mubarak Sindho Baloch claimed that SSWMB was providing sanitation services in residential areas of his union council but picnic spots like Hawksbay, Paradise Point and French Beach were left unattended. “Sometimes NGOs or students clean these areas, otherwise the waste is eventually carried back into the sea by waves,” he said.

Environmental groups have warned against the growing amount of plastic pollution along the coast. Discarded fishing nets, packaging material and single-use plastics now dominate beach litter, while scientific studies reported in the media have detected microplastics in coastal sand and marine species. These findings have raised concerns about long-term ecological damage and potential health risks to communities that depend on seafood.

WWF advisor Moazzam Khan revealed that litter accumulation at Clifton Beach was driven by two key factors. “Large quantities of solid waste are discharged into the sea through storm drains and nullahs, while domestic sewage and industrial effluents have been discharged untreated into the sea for decades,” he told The Express Pakinomist, further adding that waste left by visitors has also contributed to coastal pollution.

Khan was referring to Cyclone Biparjoy, which developed in the Arabian Sea and made landfall between Mandvi in ​​India’s Gujarat and near Jakhau Port near Pakistan’s Keti Bandar on 15 June 2023. Although the cyclone did not directly hit Karachi, it passed about 120 kilometers southeast of the city, triggering strong tidal activity. This caused severe waves along Karachi’s coast, flooding low-lying areas and disturbing the seabed, bringing debris long submerged in water onto the shoreline.

“Clifton was the worst affected area where massive amounts of garbage appeared and spread over the beach and created a bad smell,” noted Khan, who explained that Clifton Beach faced the Arabian Sea and was situated between two rivers on the eastern side and the South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPT) on the western side.

To analyze the composition of the waste deposited after the cyclone, samples were collected from a 10×10 square meter area. The analysis revealed that 43 percent of the waste consisted of polyurethane material commonly used in boats. Polystyrene (Styrofoam), which is widely used for packaging, made up 27 per cent. Other materials included abandoned fishing nets (6 per cent), plastic bags (5 per cent), baskets (4 per cent), plastic bottles (4 per cent) and wires/cables (3 per cent), while the remaining 8 per cent consisted of mixed household items and unidentifiable items.

Overall, more than 75 percent of the waste was plastic. The analysis indicated that the debris had been present in the sea for a long time and was pushed ashore by tidal activity. Its composition showed that most of it did not originate locally from Clifton, but was largely linked to the fishing industry. Khan noted that such waste typically accumulates around Karachi Fish Harbour, located approximately 12 kilometers west of Clifton.

During high tides, monsoon rains and cyclonic activity, this waste is often pushed back onto the shoreline and pollutes popular recreational areas. Aside from plastic debris, beachgoers at Sea View and other coastal sites regularly encounter wine bottles, broken glass, pieces of clothing, footwear, cigarettes, cutlery, food scraps, charcoal and barbecue waste, and foul-smelling sludge, a problem documented repeatedly in local newspapers and television reports.

Environmental expert Hina Moin revealed that her team had conducted several visits and research studies at Clifton Beach over different periods. “Tourists often dump plastic and other waste on the beach, while untreated domestic and industrial waste water enters the sea through nullahs. This not only harms marine life but also seriously pollutes the coast. Research stations were established between Bilawal House and Do Darya, where sand samples were collected using square sampling methods,” says Moin.

“From just one gram of sand at each station, we found between 25 and 3,000 microplastic particles,” Moin said, noting that the highest concentration was found at Do Darya due to waste from nearby restaurants entering the sea. “After the 2023 cyclone, researchers found clams along the Clifton coast. Examination of the dead organisms inside revealed microplastic contamination, further highlighting the extent of ocean pollution,” Moin added.

An investigation by The Express Pakinomist found that the primary source of coastal pollution was untreated domestic sewage and industrial waste discharged through the Lyari and Malir rivers and storm drains. Large amounts of solid household waste were also dumped into these drains as they passed through densely populated areas, eventually reaching the sea and polluting beaches like Clifton. Citizens visiting beaches for recreation often left behind plastic bottles, shopping bags and other garbage due to a lack of civic responsibility.

The regional planner Dr. Syed Nawaz Al-Huda also felt that Karachi’s coastline was severely polluted. “In recent years, civil society groups, universities and NGOs have organized beach clean-up campaigns, including at Phase 8 and Sea View. During these drives, volunteers collected several tons of trash, including plastic, Styrofoam, hospital waste and discarded clothing, within a few hours, which was later disposed of by the Clifton Dr. Alliance Board,” note.

What further complicates beach cleaning is weak supervision and lack of coordination. Control of Karachi’s coastline is divided between several federal, provincial and municipal bodies, creating gaps in accountability. While civil society and student-led clean-up campaigns have periodically drawn attention to the crisis, experts warn that without consistent institutional action, Karachi’s coastline will continue to absorb the consequences of unchecked urban waste and environmental neglect.

“Cantonment boards and municipal authorities must establish an effective and regular cleaning system, especially at Clifton Beach, to ensure that civic groups are not forced to repeatedly step in and that Karachi’s coastline remains clean,” pleaded Dr Al-Huda.