Dirty habits: City continues to reek as ignorance reigns supreme

Locals blame WSSP’s garbage containers, authorities say residents unaware of proper use

PESHAWAR: The whiff of pungent odours permeates the air in various localities of the city after Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) installed garbage containers.

Although residents are outraged over the foul smell, WSSP officials believe locals are to blame for this mess.

Muhammad Quresh, a resident of Gulberg, is least pleased with the garbage he has to see in front of his house on a daily basis. “The effort to install garbage boxes is appreciable, but people need to understand that it is not healthy,” he tells The Express Tribune. “I feel like moving from this locality now. The waste that [accumulated in the area] four years ago remains to this day.”

Lack of initiative

Peshawar has the unenviable distinction of being ranked second among the most polluted cities in the world and the situation on the streets serves as welcome proof of this. Although efforts have been made by WSSP, citizens have failed to take an initiative to cooperate with the relevant authorities.  When contacted, WSSP Spokesperson Taimoor Shah blames residents for the pollution that has assailed the city’s metropolitan life. He says they are ignorant about how to use garbage containers and are making the environment unhealthy through their own negligence.

“Nearly three months ago, WSSP installed 151 newly designed garbage containers painted with truck art on the roads [to make them more visually appealing],” he says.

Civic failure

He adds the older containers were wide open and created a huge mess. However, the new containers are 0.8 cubic meters to 20 cubic meters long and have sliding doors. “This allows locals to throw garbage inside and close them,” Shah says. “But they are uneducated and dump trash outside.”

He attributes the foul smells to the habits of the people.

The spokesperson also says the authority has left no stone unturned to educate people on the disposal of domestic waste. “Yet, they choose to throw waste out on the streets,” Shah complains.

He adds vehicles reach the container by 5am to collect the garbage. “Regardless of these efforts, people continue dumping trash outside the containers when they wake up,” the spokesperson says.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2016..