Rawalpindi Looking at the different kinds of ‘development’ taking place and making the country cosmetically better, most people wonder why our powers that be do not pay attention to the aspects that will make the life of its citizens better. Clean water; electricity; housing; garbage disposal and so on. These should be the priority of those who manage the affairs of the country but alas! They have priorities which make you tend to believe that they are doing what they do for reasons other than the love for their people and country. Leaving aside the Metro bus project, let’s take a closer look at the general state of affairs all over Pakistan which create misery and health hazards. The rains have exposed the bad drainage system probably resulting from encroachments over large drains; unauthorised buildings all around residential/commercial areas right under the nose of authorities and of course the garbage, which is a big problem everywhere. Civic sense is missing entirely from the mindset of most Pakistanis, whether it be the indiscipline seen on the roads as vehicles are driven caring a hoot for traffic rules; the absence of queues — a ‘push and shove’ attitude is adopted wherever there is a rush any place; the confusion that prevails in any public office like the utility ones and so on. And to repeat, last but not least is the proper disposal of garbage, resulting in stinking heaps that are the worst health hazard not to say anything about them being an eyesore! In Rawalpindi for instance, huge mounds of garbage are seen in most of the side streets — the main roads are kept clean because that is where VIPs pass — and these days the stench is overwhelming. It is good that the current authority figures have cleaned up Saddar and restored its good looks – old-timers who have seen its earlier glory are really happy — but again, this could have been postponed. Authority figures need to get their priorities right. Funds for this project could have been diverted to clean up the city as a whole; proper receptacles built at garbage collection points; drains covered so that careless house cleaners do not throw the rubbish in them for the sake of convenience and so on. The heap seen in the picture is opposite the graveyard in the vicinity of Lalazar/Dheri Hasanabad. A day before Eid I saw a few cleaners working in the rain to try and clean up at this spot, literally, a hill of garbage which had taken up half the road. These men have a tough job because the number of mechanized vehicles is not enough. They load the rubbish manually on to trucks and trailers, so they can only clear up a part of the mess — a difficult task at the best of times but made much worse because of the humidity these days. The result is a far from clean area where a lot of filth is left behind. This is an earnest request to the new powers that be at the Cantonment Board — please show resolve and clean up the city. We citizens will be grateful and sing your praises!
