Authorities urged to address waste management in Abbottabad

ABBOTTABAD: The civil society organisations and concerned citizens have urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to address the pressing issue of solid waste disposal in Abbottabad.

The city has turned into a waste dump due to the cessation of garbage collection by municipal service departments, including the Cantonment Board, TMA, GDA, and WASSCA, after the high court prohibited the disposal of solid waste at Salhad, the previous dumpsite for the last 40 years. 

The entire sub dumping points in Kehal, Kunj, Malikpura, Nawansher, Shiekhulbandi, Supply, Sethi Masjid, Iqbal road, and city sabzi mandi, Bandajaat and other areas and every corner of the city seems to be full of heap of garbage lying on the roadside and corner of the roads.

The small and large containers which were placed at different points by the WASSCA, Cantonment Board are not lifted for the last couple of days and it has caused hygienic issues in the city.

The WASSCA, cantonment and TMA sanitation staff have been facing an uphill task of cleaning the streets and dumping points in the city area as they had no alternative place to dump the city’s garbage. Similarly, Galiyat Development Authority is also disposing of the garbage by filling in trenches with landfill creating hygiene problems and water pollution. The Peshawar High Court, Abbottabad circuit bench, on contempt of court application, has taken a decision on November 23 and had ordered not to throw the garbage at the main city entrance point at Salhad and ordered the city departments to shift the dump to any other place and fixed December 12, 2023 for next hearing.

The court also called the project director of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Citizens Improvement Project in person on the next hearing.The KPCIP has planned to install the integrated waste management plant at Dhamtor and will develop a park at the dumping site but it will take almost three years.

It has been learnt that commissioner Hazara has convened a special meeting of the district administration for stop-gap arrangements and to acquire a piece of land to be used temporarily as a dumping site for the city’s garbage. It was further decided that garbage being disposed of by filling in trenches would be cleared every week.

Civil society organisations and concerned citizens have invited the attention of the provincial government over the severe problem facing by the people of Abbottabad. They have demanded the KP government, especially Chief Minister Syed Arshad Hussain Shah, who himself belongs to Abbottabad, to direct authorities concerned to speed up the process as KPCIP has called international tenders to complete the necessary formalities for installation of the plant.