It is easy to imagine that crops produced in polluted soil are bound to have harmful ingredients that can have both short and long term ill effects on the consumers' health.

A dyeing factory is an ancillary industry to the thriving textiles sector; so their numbers are likely to increase day by day. So what we needed was a plan of action in place to make them abide by environmental laws. Similarly, we have tanneries and other industries that are a source of pollution in the absence of scientific effluent treatment and dumping systems. Their relocation away from the city limits remains a far cry.

Academics and experts have also been warning us of the dire consequences of unplanned and indiscriminate dumping of toxic wastes. The sources of pollution have been identified and highlighted by the media through detailed reports and articles.

What people would like to know is: when will the ministry and department concerned attend to this environmental challenge? The government must set about the task of fighting environmental pollution by concentrating on the issues raised and the areas of pollution identified by the media and the environmental activists groups.

It is a matter of great worry that despite what has been said and written about the detrimental effects of unplanned effluent discharge, most factories still dump their wastes in gross violation of the law. This is an area where the authorities concerned must enforce the rules strictly in order to stop environmental degradation.