Dear Creek Club member,

Warm greetings for having made it to the membership of an esteemed and exclusive club of Pakistan. Located at an attractive edge of a creek leading to the open sea, this club exemplifies almost all the reasons and contradictions that keep Pakistan behind the rest of the world by decades. After all, only in a convoluted and cruel society would the average monthly bill of a club member exceed the average monthly wage (illegally) given to the contracted sanitation workers of Karachi’s solid waste management staff and the Sindh municipalities.

This letter is however about a much more earthly matter: The impeccable services offered by the club i.e. gym and jogging track, beveraging and brunching, parlouring and partying, are praiseworthy. But they also give rise to a fundamental question: How does the honourable club dispose its not so honourable raw sewage, generated as a by-product of its activities, members and operations?

• Read: Heavy toll of development frenzy on Karachi coast

It may be best to begin by knowing the latest facts of this tragic saga, as provided by DHA itself, as noted in its letter documented as “DHA/Appeal-2587-03/23 dated 12 May 2023”. Creek Club produces an effluent (raw sewage) of 40,000 gallons per day or 14.6 million gallons per year. The entirety of its unsavoury semi-liquid stuff is directly released into the waters of the Arabian Sea, polluting the ocean, killing marine life, spreading disease and harming the environment. All this is done without batting an eyelid, without a twitch of conscience and without any concern for law or environment.

Land reclamation of Karachi's natural wetlands by DHA has narrowed the mouth of the Malir river and blocked natural drains over the years. pic.twitter.com/GVzxA6CKUz

— Mahera Omar (@afewmofilms) June 23, 2017

This unforgiveable environmental violation has gone on for over 20 years. The club has no remorse or understanding of the scale of destruction. Its members have no concern and the Sindh Environmental Authority has no interest. All this illegal dumping is even considered kosher, even as the sewage treatment plants next to McDonald’s at Sea View and the nearby Golf Club operate at half of their designed capacities.

Mr. Jinnah cannot be thanked enough for declaring, “You are free to go to your temples, mosques or to any other place of worship.” Perhaps he should have also mentioned, “but go only to those clubs that cause no harm to people, plants, animals or environment.”

Naeem Sadiq