KARACHI: Beaches are meant to offer calm, recreation and escape from urban life, but along much of Karachi’s coastline, visitors are instead forced to navigate piles of garbage strewn across the sand. Institutional neglect, fragmented jurisdiction and poor public awareness have turned many of the city’s once-pristine coastal stretches into dumping grounds.
Although a solid waste collection system exists within the Clifton Cantonment Board’s (CBC) jurisdiction at parts of Clifton Beach, cleaning is irregular and limited in scope. In municipal areas, however, there is virtually no organised cleaning mechanism, leaving large sections of Karachi’s 75-kilometre coastline neglected and polluted.
Control over the coastline is divided among multiple federal, provincial and local authorities, as well as private entities. Popular recreational spots along this stretch include Clifton Beach (Sea View), Hawksbay, Sands Pit, Turtle Beach, Sunehri Beach and French Beach, many of which suffer from chronic waste accumulation.
Marine pollution has become one of Karachi’s most persistent yet under-addressed urban problems. Despite being Pakistan’s main port city and home to the country’s longest urban coastline, Karachi continues to discharge vast quantities of untreated domestic sewage, industrial effluent and solid waste into the Arabian Sea on a daily basis.
A Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that responsibility for coastal land was spread across numerous bodies, including Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim Authority, provincial Revenue Department, Karachi Fish Harbour Authority, DHA, CBC, Manora Cantonment Board, KMC, Karachi Development Authority, Lyari Development Authority, Maripur Town Municipal Authority and other public and private institutions.
“Parts of Clifton Beach fall under CBC, where a cleaning system exists, while areas under KMC have no formal sanitation arrangements,” the official said. A CBC spokesperson, however, maintained that Clifton Beach and Sea View within cantonment limits were cleaned daily and that dustbins had been installed for public use.
Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) Managing Director Tariq Nizamani stated that the board was responsible for sanitation in coastal residential areas under municipal control, but not for picnic points such as Clifton Beach. “If we are formally approached, we can initiate cleaning there as well,” he said, adding that SSWMB currently managed waste collection in coastal settlements including Lala Bhakar, Baba Bhit, Shamspir, Keamari and Ibrahim Hyderi.
Maripur Town UC-2 Lala Bhakar Chairman Mubarak Sindho Baloch echoed similar concerns, noting that while residential areas received sanitation services, popular picnic spots such as Hawksbay, Paradise Point and French Beach were largely ignored. “Occasionally, NGOs or students clean these areas. Otherwise, the waste is eventually carried back into the sea by waves,” he said.
Environmental groups have repeatedly warned about the alarming rise in plastic pollution along Karachi’s coast. Discarded fishing nets, packaging material and single-use plastics now dominate beach waste. Scientific studies cited in the media have also detected microplastics in coastal sand and marine species, raising serious concerns about long-term ecological damage and health risks for communities dependent on seafood.
WWF adviser Moazzam Khan identified two main sources of garbage accumulation at Clifton Beach: solid waste carried into the sea through stormwater drains and nullahs, and decades of untreated domestic sewage and industrial effluent discharged directly into the Arabian Sea. Litter left behind by beachgoers further worsens the problem, he added.
Khan also referred to Cyclone Biparjoy in June 2023, which, although it did not directly strike Karachi, passed about 120 kilometres southeast of the city. The resulting strong tidal activity disturbed the seabed and pushed long-submerged waste onto the shoreline, particularly at Clifton Beach, creating foul odours and widespread pollution.
An analysis of waste collected from a 10×10 square metre area after the cyclone revealed that over 75 per cent of the debris was plastic. Polyurethane used in boats made up 43 per cent of the waste, followed by polystyrene (27 per cent), abandoned fishing nets (6 per cent), plastic bags (5 per cent), baskets (4 per cent), plastic bottles (4 per cent) and wires and cables (3 per cent). The remaining 8 per cent consisted of mixed household and unidentifiable waste.
The composition suggested that much of the waste had accumulated in the sea over long periods and was largely linked to the fishing industry, particularly around Karachi Fish Harbour, located about 12 kilometres west of Clifton. During high tides, monsoon rains and cyclonic activity, this debris is frequently pushed back onto popular beaches.
Environmental expert Hina Moin said her team’s research at Clifton Beach found widespread microplastic contamination. “From just one gram of sand, we detected between 25 and 3,000 microplastic particles, with the highest concentration near Do Darya due to waste from nearby restaurants entering the sea,” she said. Following Cyclone Biparjoy, researchers also found dead marine organisms along the shore containing microplastics, highlighting the severity of marine pollution.
A survey by The Express Tribune identified untreated sewage and industrial waste discharged through the Lyari and Malir rivers and stormwater drains as the primary sources of coastal pollution. Household solid waste dumped into these drains from densely populated areas eventually reaches the sea, contaminating beaches such as Clifton. Visitors further contribute to the problem by leaving behind plastic bottles, bags and food waste.
Regional planner Dr Syed Nawaz Al-Huda said Karachi’s coastline remained severely polluted despite periodic cleanup drives by civil society groups, universities and NGOs. “During these campaigns, volunteers collect several tonnes of waste within hours, which shows the scale of the problem,” he said, stressing that such efforts cannot substitute for consistent institutional action.
Experts agree that weak oversight and poor coordination among the many authorities controlling the coastline have created gaps in accountability. Without a unified, regular cleaning and waste management system, Karachi’s beaches will continue to bear the brunt of unchecked urban pollution.
“Cantonment boards and municipal authorities must establish an effective and sustained cleaning mechanism, especially at Clifton Beach, so that Karachi’s coastline can be preserved for future generations,” urged Dr Al-Huda.
Story by Syed Ashraf Ali
