Delayed lifting ofwaste in Zaman Parkraises security threat

LAHORE: Inability of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) to ensure the second time waste lifting has raised serious security threats in the neighborhood of Prime Minister’s residence in Zaman Park.

During a visit to Zaman Park on Tuesday noon, it was revealed that the second time waste lifting in the area was usually delayed due to which local scavengers emptied the garbage containers and threw the waste in the empty plot where the containers were placed. These containers are placed in an empty plot in Zaman Park near the PM’s house.

The filthy look of the spot, which is not very far from the home of Prime Minister Imran Khan, clearly tells about the performance of LWMC, residents said. They said door-to-door waste lifting was also not being done in the area.

The issue of delay in second-time waste lifting and lack of door-to -door waste collection were carried by the media repeatedly but still the LWMC’s higher management has failed to implement the contractual obligations on its contractors.

The Punjab government and LWMC bosses always claimed that they are implementing a zero-waste policy towards waste collection but in reality lifting of waste at multiple times from the City had already been a big problem for citizens.

The overflowing waste-bins in the residential and commercial localities have become a common sight in the provincial metropolis and usually LWMC management claimed that waste generation was a continuous process and the company could not lift waste after every hour of the day.

Many residents of Zaman Park while talking with this scribe said that scattered garbage was a serious threat to the area as heaps of garbage could be used to hide any unwanted things such as explosives or any such devices. They have appealed to the chief minister to take strict action over the negligence.

When contacted, LWMC General Manager (Operations) Sohail Malik said that the area was swept twice on a daily basis. To a question that delay in lifting garbage provided an opportunity to scavengers to sort out garbage, he said that scavengers didn’t come to this area usually.

However, LWMC Chairman Riaz Hameed said that such negligence could not be tolerated and he would take it up as a serious issue. He assured that action would be taken against those responsible.