Karachi police to register FIR for littering

KARACHI: In a bid to keep the metropolis clean, Karachi Administrator Iftikhar Shallwani has decided to impose Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to ban people from littering the city.

According to a notification, the ban will be in place for the next two months and an FIR will be registered against any person found throwing garbage on the streets or at undesignated locations.

Shallwani warned that if people violate the orders, the police will have the right to arrest them under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

He added that heaps of garbage dumped at undesignated locations is not only unsightly but it is wreaking havoc on the sewerage system of the city.

"The city's environment is deteriorating due to the dumping of garbage in unrelated places," Iftikhar Shallwani said. "It is also causing traffic jams and spreading an unpleasant odour. Earlier this month, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) had announced that it would purchase over 200 Qingqi rickshaws to initiate a 'door-to-door' garbage collection system.

Local Government and Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah had said that the government would purchase more Qingqi rickshaws if needed, adding that a separate solid waste management authority would be established for Karachi under the development plan.

Two months ago, the Sindh government had also renewed its contract with a Chinese firm to collect municipal trash from Karachi’s District West after the firm guaranteed that it would carry out its responsibilities effectively.

The government had previously revoked the contract about a year ago after receiving complaints that the Chinese firm Hangzhou Jinjiang had failed to discharge its responsibilities in the district.