Pindi turns into garbage city in three days
The district administration and police completely continued sealing all major and minor routes in and out of Rawalpindi with containers on the third consecutive day on Saturday, halting the operations of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) for garbage collection and hospital waste disposal.
All RWMC vehicles that usually dump waste outside the city have been unable to operate for the past three days. As a result of the road closures, these vehicles were able to collect trash throughout the city, leading to piles of waste accumulating everywhere, turning Rawalpindi into a garbage dump and causing the spread of diseases.
Over the past three days, the accumulated waste has attracted a swarm of flies, mosquitoes, and other pests. The sanitary workers, who had gathered waste from streets, neighbourhoods, and markets until a day ago, have dumped it at the Committee Chowk in the Sunday facility market. This has created a foul smell all around, causing severe distress to citizens, especially women buying fruits and vegetables at the market.
Additionally, all 70 union councils in the city have turned into dumping grounds, with large iron baskets for garbage collection in the corners of neighbourhoods overflowing, leading to double or triple the amount of waste spilling out. Sanitary workers have stopped collecting waste from homes in all neighbourhoods, forcing citizens to throw their household trash outside due to this situation. Navigating through the heaps of garbage in every street and neighbourhood has become difficult.
On the other hand, the Meteorological Department has forecast rain today, increasing the citizens' concerns. If it rains, all the accumulated waste is at risk of spreading throughout the streets and neighbourhoods. Trash seems to greet anyone entering any area. Many sanitary workers have started dumping waste in vacant plots and open spaces.
The Citizens Action Committee (CAC) has announced a protest demonstration against this situation on Sunday (today), while citizens have also become vocal in their protests. The committee's chairman, Zaheer Awan, said that incompetence and negligence of RWMC officials were evident. He emphasised that the officials could temporarily clear a path at the direction of the Deputy Commissioner to send the waste-laden vehicles to the dumping ground at night. He urged the DC to allow a temporary opening of the road immediately otherwise, citizens would protest outside the offices of the DC and RWMC offices today.
Trader Chaudhry Imran opined that the accumulation of waste in markets was also affecting the transport system and spreading foul odours, leading to an increase in eye infections. He stressed that waste management was a major issue in the city that required immediate attention. Naveed Khan pointed out that every street was becoming filled with garbage, stating that the administration should address the waste management issue without being preoccupied with one political party.
Dr Inayat, the Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS) at the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, commented that the accumulation of waste was not only foul-smelling but extremely dangerous for human health, posing a risk of numerous diseases, including tuberculosis, respiratory issues, and hepatitis, especially when medical lab waste from hospitals and clinics were involved.