Delay in waste lifting irks citizens

LAHORE: Delay in lifting of waste in second shift is causing serious inconvenience for the citizens but Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) is not taking this issue seriously.

The company bosses especially its operations team always claimed that they were implementing a zero-waste policy but in reality lifting of waste at multiple times from the city had already been a big problem for them.

Normally the company and its contractors lifted waste early in the morning but the waste bins are again full around 11am and then around 4pm and later at around 8pm. These fully loaded waste bins can be seen in residential areas, commercial markets and other important places and have become a permanent nuisance for the citizens. Many citizens while talking with the scribe said that the company should review its waste lifting time besides introducing an effective monitoring system to point out any such waste bin.

Sources in the company revealed that majority of staff especially managers and deputy managers in operations wings didn’t bother to visit their respective jurisdictions repeatedly so that they could know the exact situation.

Managing Director LWMC Ajmal Bhatti admitted the fact that second time waste lifting is slow. He said he himself had witnessed this on Monday while coming to his office. Talking about changing the situation, he said this was difficult till the presence of Turkish contractors.

On Monday, the scribe visited different city localities and found that garbage bins laying at Laxmi Chowk were full in the afternoon. Similarly the waste bins in residential localities of Habibullah Road and Upper Mall were also full and emitting stink.

Residents of these localities said the LWMC contractors usually come in these areas early morning and late at night. They said they were dealing with fully loaded waste bins all the day. “As there is no playground in the area, children used to play cricket on the road but due to fully loaded waste bins they are not playing,” said Zubair Ahmed, a resident of Habibullah Road.

On the other hand, LWMC spokesperson claimed that on the special directions from the chief minister, LWMC Managing Director Ajmal Bhatti paid surprise visits to multiple areas to monitor cleanliness condition.

The LWMC MD visited rural and urban areas, including Manga Mandi, Sundar Industrial Estate, Raiwand, Multan Road and its neighbouring areas, Thokar Niaz Baig followed by Johar Town and other areas.

During the visit, he was accompanied by GM Operations Sohail Anwar Malik and other officials. The LWMC MD stated that maintaining cleanliness in every nook and corner of the city is the utmost priority of the organisation. He added that department was observing zero-tolerance and negligence of any sort was not acceptable.

He said the goal of transforming Lahore into the cleanest city cannot be achieved without active participation of the community, students and especially the youth to raise an environment-conscious next generation.

LWMC is conducting awareness-raising activities across the city to sensitise the citizens for proper disposal of solid waste followed by taking all possible measures for making Prime Minister`s Clean and Green Campaign successful. The GM Operations mentioned that surprise visits would continue to ensure proper and effective waste management services in Lahore.

LWMC spokesman said that citizens should cooperate as they hold an important role in maintaining cleanliness in the city. He added that Lahore is a metropolitan city with a population of more than 10 million people, whereas LWMC with the given resources doing its best to provide the best cleanliness services for the citizens. He shared that citizens should dial LWMC official Helpline 1139 or can install mobile based application Clean Lahore for their waste-related complaints.