Brace up for more foul smell

Rawalpindi : The city district government, Rawalpindi has decided to register FIRs against protesters for not allowing the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) to dump the garbage at ‘Losar’ for the past four days. The residents of ‘Losar’ at Chak Beli Khan Road carrying sticks and stones attacked the vehicles of RWMC barring them from dumping garbage at the designated site.

Meanwhile, over 5,500 tons garbage of city areas was dumped at the transfer station near Liaquat Bagh and due to protest in Losar it was not being shifted which was emanating foul smell making life of the nearby areas’ residents miserable.

Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) Managing Director Rizwan Sherdil told ‘The News’ that FIRs would be registered against the protesters who were taking law into their hands. “I am going to Deputy Commissioner (DC), Rawalpindi Dr Umar Jahangir who is also chairman of RWMC and inform him of the factual position of Losar. It has become quite difficult for our drivers to dump garbage at Losar,” he added.

He said that RWMC purchased 600-kanal land at Losar in 2003 to dump garbage. “But, residents of the area are not allowing us to work. All 120 garbage lifting vehicles have stopped their operations for past four days,” he added.

He also pointed out that RWMC has purchased 2500-kanal land at ‘Sang’ an area on the outskirts of the city to establish a modern dumping site but the project will take around 6 to 8 months to become fully functional.

Rizwan Sherdil said that the residents of ‘Losar’ have raised the objection that the open dumping of the solid waste in their area was creating problems for them in the shape of foul smell and other environmental problems. “The residents want to get the landfill site immediately shifted from the area but there was no site available for dumping of the garbage. However, we have assured them that we would install a fence around the landfill site to avoid spread of garbage,” he added.

RWMC has also promised to take measures to check the foul smell from the site. Besides, more trees would be planted in and around the landfill site which would save the area from environment pollution. RWMC Managing Director Rizwan Sherdil also offered to install a filtration plant in the village to facilitate locals of ‘Losar’ but in vain.

It is worth mentioning here that if RWMC does not resolve this issue immediately the overall situation will turn pathetic for the dwellers of the city as more and more garbage was getting dumped at the transfer station near Liaquat Bagh.