A frightening scenario

Rawalpindi:You may be throwing the garbage away from your home, but chances are that it will be back at your doorstep bigger than ever. There appears to be no permanent solution in sight.

“The mounds of garbage on old airport service road are getting bigger and civic bodies do not know what to do with it. More will be dumped in the days to come and we will all soon be right in the midst of a festering nightmare,” says Jawad Hasan. “With civic bodies having no plan, an epidemic may be just around the corner. It is not just the scene and smells we worry about, the threat of the outbreak of epidemics looms large,” says Irfan Jafari.

“Surrounding localities generate an alarming quantity of garbage every single day and the area is the worst hit with garbage not cleared for days. Leaking water pipes, and overflowing sewage compound the situation,” says Shafqat Abbas. “Vendors and customers are both at risk. That apart, citizens who eat out at nearby Saien Jee and Baoo Jee restaurants are also at risk,” adds Shafqat.

“This is an example of a failed and flawed civic body. Why is something not being done to educate the populace? The garbage bins placed on the service road are not adequate. They overflow all the time,” says Naveen Fatima. “The garbage has not been cleared for the past eight days. This service road connects many localities such as Fazal Town Phase-I, Dhoke Lilyal, Dhoke Hafiz, Shah Khalid Colony, Fazal Town Phase-II, Faisal Colony, Gulzar-e-Quaid, etc., says Shujaat Ali, who regularly uses that road.

“The area is densely populated and highly commercialized. The garbage clearance is poor and mounds lie uncleaned for days on end,” adds Shujaat.

“There are many schools in the vicinity and schoolchildren are forced to walk on the garbage. The residents fear that they may contract some contagious disease with exposure to garbage,” says Arif Naqvi. “Since the garbage clearance is poor, house owners in the area complain that finding tenants has become difficult. Nobody wants to live here. I have slashed down the rent and yet there are no takers for the vacant house on the first floor,” says Jalal Haider, a house owner.

“Nobody comes to clear the garbage. Where are we supposed to dump it? If we do not clear it from the houses, the residents lambast us. We are again blamed for the garbage lying on the roads for no fault of ours,” says Aziz Hussain a garbage collector, on the condition of anonymity. Mohsen Alvi says, “When I contacted civic body officials, they blamed the contractor. I have complained about the contractor several times. I have even written to the commissioner urging him to blacklist the contractor. I will follow it up with him again.”