Air and water pollution is posing great health risk to the people residing in colonies near the industrial zone in Sectors I9 and I10, Islamabad. The residents of the area have demanded the authorities to shift the industrial zone to an alternative place for protecting their health. Many factories were operating in the industrial area, including steel melting units, re-rolling mills, flourmills, oil and ghee factories, marble cutting and polishing units, pharmaceutical firms and metalworking and engineering units. Muhammad Faisal, a resident of the area, told APP that most of the industrial units were operating without ensuring installation of anti-pollution equipment and adopting safety measures, while the anti-pollution system of many units had become out-dated due to lake of proper maintenance work. Bakhtawar Ali, another resident, said that these units were producing metal dust, slag and gaseous emissions, besides discharging untreated effluent in the main drain that eventually falls into Soan River. The shortage of gas supply in the winter season has led the re-rolling mills to use furnace oil, adding to the air pollution. Dr Asif, a medical doctor, said that pollution from steel mills could cause nose, stomach and eye diseases, besides leading to asthma, cancer, allergy etc. Talking to APP, an owner of a steel mill in Sector I9 said that it was not easy for industrialist to shift their units away from residential area because it required a huge amount. “It will also increase the transportation cost of the raw material if the unites are relocated to far,” he added. CDA Member (Environment) Dr Sheikh Suleman told this agency that steel mills in the area were more responsible for pollution, as they emit more smoke than other industrial units. He said that a monitoring system was set up to check the omission level of steel mills. He added that steel mills had been asked to install filters in their omission system. To a question about the shifting of industrial units to Sector I17, he admitted that industry owners and the Environmental Protection Agency could not reach an agreement on the issue, as owners were demanding heavy compensation in this regard. He, however, said that the Environmental Protection Agency was making efforts for ensuring healthy atmosphere for the residents.