Losar residents up in arms over 'illegal' waste dump

RAWALPINDI/KARACHI:

The residents of Losar village said on Tuesday they would embark on a protest campaign as the city administration continued to dilly-dally on their demands regarding the Losar landfill site. The protest would include barring trucks from entering the area to dump waste.

The residents have long protested against the dumping site, initially earmarked for waste from Rawalpindi, which was now being used as a dumping site by Islamabad as well as the nearby cantonment and factories.

Local activist Fayaz Hussain Gilani, who is part of the Losar Kachra Kundi Action Committee, said that personnel of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) were taking bribes from various quarters and dumping garbage in the area.

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They also protested efforts of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to acquire 1,200 acres of land on Chak Belli Road for another landfill site, accusing the authorities of disregarding court orders and the well-being of locals.

The area already has a high incidence of diseases and infections, with local medics saying patients develop complications due to living near the landfill site.

The entire area has become filthy and there is a constant malignant odour due to improper dumping of waste, said resident Muhammad Waseem. The waste dumped in the area to the tune of thousands of tonnes daily has turned the groundwater poisonous, he continued. “The wells in the households are emitting foul-smelling, filthy water,” he said, adding that a majority of the residents – particularly women and children – had developed medical complications.

Ibrahim Mudassar said that the new location at Losar would legitimise for the CDA to dump its waste within the limits of the garrison city. “It will compound the problem faced by villagers,” he said.

Locals said they had raised the issue on multiple forums and met a multitude of officials including the Rawalpindi commissioner but “the CDA remains hell-bent on driving out residents and turning our valley into a garbage dump”.

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Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi administration insisted it was in contact with various departments, including the Punjab Environment Protection Department.

However, locals accused the Rawalpindi administration of being subservient to the CDA. “The Pindi commissioner does the CDA’s bidding,” Gilani told The Express Tribune.

According to Gilani, over 150,000 people were directly affected by the landfill site in Losar. The residents of the (UC) of Bagga Sheikhan are the worst affected, with at least half the residents of several other UCs including Takht Pari, Basali as well as others among those reporting a disproportionate number of skin and water-borne diseases and breathing ailments.

Gilani said another 100 brick kilns were also located along the landfill site as well as industrial units. “They also dump their waste in Losar and pay the RWMC for that facility,” he said.

Even the trash is first dumped at Liaquat Bagh by the authorities in Rawalpindi and Humak Town by Islamabad, after which it is brought to Losar, he continued. “Trash from various cantonments and major residential societies is also being brought here.”

Gilani has little faith in the authorities, having heard their promises on multiple occasions regarding moving the landfill site from Losar.

When the landfill site was first made operational, the residents were told that the area would be made for parks. Once they found out that it was a garbage dump, they protested. The authorities, according to Gilani, convinced them that the site would be moved after 10 years while the residents would benefit in terms of other services like utility connections. But none of these commitments were fulfilled, continues Gilani.

Following a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC), the then deputy commissioner assured the residents of shifting the landfill site to another area in Gujar Khan within six months.

Meanwhile, a public hearing was also held in which it was acknowledged that the residents’ grievances were justified, narrates Gilani.

The CDA did acquire the landfill site in Gujar Khan from the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) but the site is yet to be utilised.

“There is a powerful politician in Gujar Khan, so the RDA and the CDA cannot do anything,” said Gilani.

Meanwhile, the CDA acquired the 1,200 canals at Losar, which has since been challenged with the LHC, barring any such transfer without a public hearing.

In the public hearing, the residents were unanimous in their objection to creating another landfill site for waste from Islamabad. “The environment officer had also submitted in his report to the LHC that the site wasn’t adequate for waste dumping,” claimed Gilani.

Despite this, the CDA has received clearance from the EPD on flimsy conditions, he lamented.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2023.