Editorial
Citizens at risk
Remove chemical warehouses, fast!
The worries voiced by environmentalists and activists of non-government organizations on the continued presence of chemical warehouses in residential areas of the city find an echo across the spectrum. The reason is not hard to seek. In these past few years, demands have consistently been made by citizens and social bodies for a removal of all those factories and industries which pose hazards to public health. In quite a few instances, legal action has also been taken to ensure that such establishments are effectively moved away from the city and relocated away from it. Regrettably, not much appears to have been done about these demands being met.
Which explains why a citizens' rally in the capital on Friday thought it necessary to remind everyone that fifteen months into the fire in Nimtoli, chemical warehouses remain in the area as well as in other parts of the city. These areas, be it noted, happen to be residential ones, which means residents are always vulnerable and tragedy of some sort or the other could erupt at any moment. What surely remains a mystery is that despite the setting up of a task force by the government to work on the removal of these warehouses, little is known about its actual activities. Those who took part at the rally clearly suspected things unethical here and believe a nexus between the bureaucracy and profit-mongering businessmen is coming in the way of an implementation of public demands.
We fully agree with the sentiments expressed at the rally. Lest a new tragedy occur and lest the presence of chemical factories and warehouses further endanger the lives of citizens, the authorities must move purposefully into freeing all residential areas of such establishments at the earliest. No excuses, no amount of sloth, nothing of a suspicious nature must come into the scene.
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