Villages drown in waste as sanitation system falters

Nearly 18 months after waste management operations were outsourced, residents of four villages and adjoining settlements in Union Council 182 say sanitation services remain substandard, raising questions about the performance of the Suthra Punjab Agency and its contractor.

In a complaint submitted to the Suthra Punjab Authority Lahore against the Suthra Punjab Agency Faisalabad and its contracted firm, residents of Chak 4 JB Arfa Karim Nagar claimed that essential cleanliness indicators, including waste management, door-to-door garbage collection, road and street cleanliness, reduction of open dumping sites, complaint response mechanisms, availability of sanitation machinery, staff attendance, recycling and drain cleaning, have not been implemented effectively in the area.

Residents alleged that no proper waste enclosure or designated dumping point has been established in the union council, forcing communities to manage solid waste on their own.

Vice Chairman of UC 182Chaudhry Arshad Waheed said that although the contractor's performance was being monitored through a real-time dashboard linked with field data, complaints and staff performance, the ground situation was different.

He alleged that sanitation workers visit rural areas only occasionally and that regular waste collection services are not being provided as required.