It is the locals who can actually bring about a meaningful change
KARACHI: With the influence of CPEC increasing in Pakistan, the current development is the placement of dustbins along the roads of Karachi. Even though the machinery had been shipped from China since January, the dustbins were placed just a couple of weeks ago. At first, there were concerns that keeping such expensive dustbins unsupervised in the streets was a mistake as they will not last long and will be stolen, given the crime rate of Karachi, but the results have been surprising. The dustbins are intact and are not yet mishandled.
The issue, however, that arose a few days after the placement of these dustbins is the scattered trash across the streets. Since these dustbins are placed every 100 metres, there are multiple dustbins on a single road. The result of which is the scattered trash lying around each dustbin. Even though the dustbins are emptied daily unlike before when the garbage used to be disposed openly in a corner, at least there was a single corner where all the trash was accumulated and the rest of the street was clean. But now, you will find scattered trash around the dustbin every 100 metres or so while driving by. This shows the management of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, which has taken the responsibility of this initiative, as well as the people of Karachi who, even after provided with proper mechanisms, still choose to litter the streets.
The initiative to make Karachi the cleanest city of Asia can only be made possible if the people and the government play their part in making their hometown beautiful. An outsider can only help to a certain extent. It is the locals who can actually bring about a meaningful change.
Zainab Nayani
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2017.
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