Rawalpindi’s clean-up drive falters

Residents highlight the need for more efficient sanitation systems

ISLAMABAD:

The awareness campaign and cleaning operations in all tehsils of Rawalpindi and Murree have miserably failed despite clear directions from the Punjab chief minister. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz earlier ordered to make the entire province clean from garbage under Suthra Punjab.

Millions of tonnes of garbage are piled up in the congested areas of Rawalpindi after a large number of citizens from the surrounding localities of Taxila, Murree, Gujarkhan, Wah Cantt, Rawat and Tarnool arrive in the city every day.

The cleaning exercise by the relevant authorities is only confined to the paperwork. Under the zero-waste policy, civic agencies are supposed to wash garbage from open plots, streets, roads, cemeteries and neighbourhoods with the help of manual and mechanical sweeping methods.

Important roads like Murree Road, Kartapura, Liaquat Bagh, Dhok Khabi, Dhok Kala Khan, Dhok Ratta, Ratta Amaral and Gwalmandi streets portray a dirty picture. According to city dwellers, sanitation staff only cleans the residential areas of legislators and the houses of VIPs.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, citizens Abdullah, Shoaib and Danish said that the Punjab Chief Minister should make the sanitation system in Rawalpindi more efficient and give the latest machinery to the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) in this regard.

They suggested that in consultation with the local traders, the size of shops’ signboards should be uniform and the old buildings should be painted to give the city an attractive look. According to the citizens, old and dilapidated buildings between Shamsabad and Liaqat Bagh on Murree Road present a scene of ruins.

They also put their weight behind the continuation of the RWMC’s door-to-door campaign about the importance and effectiveness of cleanliness throughout the year. Awareness sessions, seminars and walks should be organised and informational pamphlets should be distributed besides awareness messages in mosques.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2024.