Dream of making UCs of Rawalpindi trash-free

Bearing the brunt of the civic body’s inability to resolve the problem, residents of Rawalpindi city have found better ways of trash disposal. They dump the trash on the spot, which has an inscription that reads “Do not throw trash here”. Do not blame them. The culprit is the lack of dustbins. That is making their life miserable.

Because of the removal of dustbins, numerous open spaces in some of the Union Councils (UCs) have been turned into a dump yard. “I live near Butt Market, Fazal Town Phase-I and the only dustbin there has been removed because it was placed in front of a house and the house owner wanted to get it removed. Same is the scenario in lots of other UCs,” says Adeem Zaidi.

Tahir Mehdi, a resident Faisal Town, says, “Since there are no dustbins, we throw garbage near the inscription that reads “Do not throw garbage here” as there is no other option. I hate doing this but that it is better than throwing it on the main street.” “Generally, the trash gets placed on the street throughout the day. It is usually removed the next morning, not too early. The sweepers start work when the street markets are opened and are crowded with customers. Even during pre-Coronavirus days, I saw them, sweeping streets when school students along with their parents were going to their institutions,” says Ali Zulfiqar from Gulzar-e-Quaid.

“Although many UCs have access to the door-to-door garbage bags collection scheme of Albayrak, as an alternative, they are used to vacant spaces. The major problem is even when the trash is removed by Albayrak van the bits of garbage are left behind after the bags are removed,” says Shanawar Hussain of Airport Housing Society.

“Even after repeated campaigns, the city portrays a pathetic picture as a failure of the municipal bodies and the poor civic sense among residents has turned the city into a huge garbage dump. The hype and photo sessions during the campaigns launched by the civic body have failed to make an impact on the ground,” says Arbaz Jafri of Mangraal Town.

It is pertinent to mention here that a municipal body official, Faheem Haider, on the condition of anonymity, remarked: “Pindiites care little about segregation at the disposal stage so that the solid waste is not thrown into the water drains itself, a practice that only clogs and drains but also makes the problem of waste handling all more complicating.”

Ghulam Abbas, resident of Shah Khalid Colony, says: “Where is the dream of Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) to make UCs of Rawalpindi city model, by conducting cleanliness operation on daily basis and to distribute awareness pamphlets to highlight the importance of cleanliness.”