Bureaucratic lethargy and the lack of political will have led to a situation where the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) and the city district government Karachi (CDGK) appear to have virtually lost the battle against polythene bags that was energetically launched over a year ago. Environmentalists accuse the environmental and health safety watchdogs of having made too many compromises.

The city is likely to face an acute shortage of milk following the decision taken by all associations of dairy farmers to observe an indefinite strike from Monday evening in protest against the city government's drive to ensure observance of the official rates of milk. The city government has fixed the milk rate at Rs34 per litre at the retail level but the retailers have been charging Rs40-42 per litre in different parts of the city since April 1.

An initial probe into the causes of the death of a large number of fish found on Sunday revealed that a high concentration of toxics in the backwaters of the Karachi harbour was responsible for the killing thousands of fish. The investigation was carried out by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and the results of a chemical analysis will be released within 10 days. No evidence has been found to support the idea that the fish

: With the detection of polio virus prevalence in the environs of a couple of towns, health workers in the city will undertake their polio eradication efforts during a three-day immunisation drive being launched across the province on Tuesday.

Thousands of fish found dead along seashore SHAFI BALOCH KARACHI -Thousands of fish of various kinds were found dead on Karachi seashore on Sunday. The local fishermen faced huge finical losses as people started taking the fish from the sea, which had already been declared unhygienic, The Nation learnt on Sunday. According to the details, dead fish have been found in large number at various points of the metropolitan including, Kiamari Channel, Baba Bit, Karachi Fish Harbor, Korangi Creak and Girzi. None of the concerned authority has taken any action so far.

The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) has resumed the project of 35 MW plant at Dhabeji. KW&SB officials told Business Recorder on Saturday that the power from 35 MW plant would be available at the cheaper rate than the Karachi Electric and Supply Company (KESC). They said the estimated cost of the project was Rs 40 million, which would be invested by the American Company. They said the KW&SB had to buy a unit of electricity at the rate of Rs 5.95 from KESC while the American Company would provide power at Rs 3.98 per unit through which the KW&SB would save million of rupees.

The city government has decided to launch the "CNG Bus Project' on a public-private partnership basis for the introduction of an environment-friendly public transport system. Under the project, 2,500 more CNG buses would be brought to city over the next five years. City government sources said that in the first phase, 500 CNG buses would be brought to the city roads through private sector. The city government has invited expression of interest (EoI) to be submitted by the interested parties by May 8 with the office of the Karachi Mass Transit Cell.

bird Flu resurfaces: Pakistan confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu at a farm outside the southern city of Karachi on February 24. This is the fourth outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Karachi in

pakistan's plan of a 25-km elevated expressway in Karachi, linking the city's airport and two ports, has triggered protests in the country. Opponents of the us $350 million project point at