unavailability of fuel or machinery, as impediments in the collection of garbage and dumping it at the designated landfill sites.Last year the provincial government set up the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) and mandates it to hire private contractors for collection of garbage from households and businesses across the city, and its subsequent recycling, utilisation for energy production and adequate disposal. However, the board has yet to assume its responsibility and start functioning.
Moreover, instead of assuming responsibility of the board, its managing director Roshan Ali Shaikh called upon the municipal authorities last Thursday to stop dumping solid waste in rivers and nullahs, and also burning it within the remit of the city.
“Transport the solid waste to landfill sites instead of burning it near residential areas since the air pollution caused by burning of thousands of tons of garbage results in asthma, skin ailments, sinusitis and allergic reactions to many,” he had said while talking to a group of journalists at his office a few days ago.
The board still faces an acute shortage of staff and resources while its own affairs are being managed from a rented facility. However, once fully functional, the SWMB will remove all garbage dumps within Karachi.
“We are planning to outsource the collection and dumping of garbage to the designated landfill sites and in this regard, some national and international companies have expressed their interest,” Shaikh had claimed.
Like his predecessors, Roshan Ali Shaikh too reiterated claims that Chinese companies had shown interest in producing electricity from garbage and producing biogas from hundreds of tons of cow dung generated in the city. However, he gave no date or timeline as to when these proposals would materialise.
On the other hand, Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui also admitted that solid waste was being dumped inside the city. But he went on to claim that he would soon initiate stern action against municipal authorities involved in this unhealthy and illegal practice, on the directives of the chief minister.
“In the coming days, you will see stringent action against all the officials involved in dumping and burning of garbage within the city,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, informed citizens believe that unless a local government system starts functioning in the city, there can be little improvement in the problem. They were of the view that the government was neither capable of resolving issues of the public nor did they have any sense of responsibility about their own duties.
“Fortunately, the local government elections are now less than a week away. The elected representatives will be in a much better position for serving the masses as compared to these government officials,” said Irfan Ahmed who is a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal town.