Defiled irony: Janitors, sweepers in city forced to live in unclean space

Say even place of worship in Kachra Colony is surrounded by filth, garbage, waste

PESHAWAR: Christians who were once known for collecting garbage in the city are now living in a garbage dump itself. As if the irony of the matter was not conspicuous enough, the residential area located on Ring Road is called Kachra Colony.

The colony is situated netxt to over 100-kanals of land used by water and sanitation services Peshawar (WSSP). The land where they live was gifted to them following the operation against illegal encroachments in the area. During this drive, their quarters were demolished by the district administration.

The original piece of land had many ponds for treating non-functional water waste. Established two decades ago on Ring Road near Gulbahar, these ponds have now been changed into a landfill.

Dumped

Former deputy commissioner Siraj Ahmad Khan and u/c town-III member Abida Tabussum inaugurated Kachra Colony in 2010 and handed it over to Christians with a promise that the government will provide all facilities to residents.

“This place was empty like a desert when DC Siraj inaugurated it for us,” a resident told The Express Tribune.

He added, “They promised to provide us with electricity and other basic amenities but soon after, we realised that we had been thrown here like garbage.”

Speaking to The Express Tribune, 30-year-old Naseema Bibi said she was living under deplorable conditions in the colony.

“How can anyone live in a place that has become a dumping ground for the entire city’s waste material?”

She added it was unfortunate that people who collected waste from the entire city and kept it clean did not even have a clean space to live in.

Naseema Bibi added, “Our children fall sick because of the unhygienic environment and we cannot even breathe because the stinking odour is unbearable.”

Need to decontaminate

A landfill where almost 800 tonnes of waste is thrown from all over the city is also famous for being the dumping ground for dead animal bodies.

According to residents, people leave their dead horses, donkeys and other animals in Kachra Colony.

Giant rats killed in the campaign run by WSSP and district administration were also disposed of in the colony where Christians live.

“People throw their dead animals here,” Naseema Bibi said. “Just the other day, I saw a dead horse few yards away from my house,” she said, adding it’s body was scratched and hundreds of hawks and crows were feeding themselves.

Poor sewage system and broken pipes in the colony have contaminated drinking water as well.

Moreover, insects that feed on trash in the colony bite residents and infect them with many contagious diseases.

A grist of flies that buzz around her face, Yasmeen, 43, said, “Yesterday my son was bitten by a mosquito and his hand is still swollen.” She added this happens on a daily basis. “Poisonous insects bite us when we sleep  or even when we place sheets on the muddy floor.”

As the level of garbage dumps increase, residents find it increasingly difficult to make it to the church which is also surrounded by piles of filth.

“Our God’s house is also surrounded by dirt and waste,” Yasmeen said. She added, “The garbage surface has become so high that we cannot even reach there to pray.”

She told The Express Tribune when their quarters were demolished, they had decided to live in rented houses but could not afford to pay Rs2,000 monthly. “That is why we came here and there seems to be no way out now,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2016.