Garbage has started piling up in all union councils, intersections and areas across the city due to the malfunctioning of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company's (RWMC) multiple vehicles.
Heaps of garbage and foul smell emitting from overflowing dustbins have become a common scene in different areas including in Sadiqabad, Service Road, Katarian, Khurram Colony, Shakriyal, UCs 71,73,74,75,76, Dhok Hassu, Ratta Amaral, Dhok Khaba, Dhol Elahi Bakhsh, Raja Bazar, Glass Factory Chowk, Amarpura, UC 32, Girja Road, Dhamyal, Chak Jalal Deen and other surrounding areas as the RWMC vehicles have woefully failed to lift and dispose of the trash.
Sanitary workers clean the garbage throughout the day and dump it in containers, but due to the lack of garbage lifting vehicles, piles of garbage could be seen scattered everywhere, causing stink in the atmosphere. Mosquitoes and flies swarm the heaps of garbage all day, risking the spread of infectious diseases.
Infectious diseases have started to break out in localities where heaps of garbage were lying unattended.
Earlier, a compactor and three mini dumpers were on duty in each union council for lifting the trash, but now only one or two mini dumpers are on duty to lift the garbage.
Sources said that several vehicles of RWMC have broken down and they have not been repaired for a long time, leaving the city’s cleanliness system in the lurch.
Citizens Bilal Naeem, Fareed Nauman, Hashim Ali, Shamriz Khokhar, Sabat Hasan and Ghulam Ali demanded that the damaged vehicles should be repaired immediately and 24-hour service should be provided to the citizens if the RWMC lacks the requisite vehicles.
Sources said that the RWMC has two workshops and the contract of the Liaquat Bagh workshop was awarded for around Rs130 million which also raised objections.
The municipal workshop (Committee Chowk) has not been outsourced which also incurs an expenditure of around Rs70 million.
Citizens said that the constant exposure to such pollution and smell increases the chances of skin diseases and negatively impacts the lungs leading to respiratory diseases.
Citizens also questioned if the RWMC vehicles were out of order, why millions of rupees were spent on petrol? The citizens demanded that the high-ups investigated the matter and fixed responsibility.
The residents complained about the heaps of garbage and foul smell emitting from overflowing dustbins and demanded the provincial government solve the problem.
RWMC officials said that damaged vehicles were being repaired which will join the cleaning fleet this week and the garbage lifting will be expedited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2022.
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