Amid the enthusiasm and support for firebrand cleric Dr Tahirul Qadri, participants of the long march have been less enthusiastic about caring for their surroundings, or even themselves. All along Jinnah Avenue heaps of leftover food, fruit peels, plastic bottles, shopping bags, paper cups and plates, empty food boxes and fallen banners are making one of the cleanest areas of the city look like a refugee camp.
As a finishing touch, stagnant water has mixed with the heaps of garbage to add the pungent odour that was missing.
Children, some too young to walk, can be seen crawling on the roads and eating food with dirty hands. Their mothers have been unable to wash their bottles regularly due to the limited supply of water and have been washing their babies with cold water.
That is still better than most participants, some of whom freely admitted to not having bathed or brushed their teeth since Monday.
There are also no proper washroom arrangements and while most have been utilising those at nearby mosques, some men have chosen to go behind the bushes along the greenbelt instead.
The prayer leader of a mosque in F-6/1 said, “These people have spread dirt and filth everywhere in the sacred home of Allah, let them be off soon from here,” adding that the mosque’s washrooms looked like a “disaster area”. There was a long line of outside washroom while he was talking to The Express Tribune.
Dr Tanvir Malik, the emergency ward in-charge at Polyclinic Hospital, said that in the last two days, over 90 participants of the rally and policemen have come to the hospital. Most of them suffered high fever, gastrointestinitis, liver and chest pain and mild asthma attacks.
“The majority of their illness were caused by a lack of preventive measures such as exposure to cold weather, substandard food and rampant litter at the site of the sit-in,” he said.
He said the participants are not taking care of what they are eating, nor are they washing their hands properly or brushing their teeth, and many are sharing water bottles.
A view of the squalid conditions at the camp site (above), a long queue formed outside a public toilet near the protest site. PHOTO: ONLINE, MUHAMMAD JAVAID/ EXPRESS
“The flu is a communicable disease that easily spread from one person to another. They sit together and they are catching it from each other. Meanwhile, exposure to the cold is making children vulnerable to pneumonia,” he said.
He feared that in case of rain, which is expected, the situation will worsen and the number of patients could shoot up.
“Patients are being provided with the required medicines for the time being but if they continue to live in a vulnerable environment, they may suffer from more health problems,” he said.
Razia Bibi, a participant diagnosed with the flu, said, “It’s not a big deal if I get ill over here. We poor people suffered with same health problems at our homes as well as there is no gas or electricity to keep warm.”
She said she is here to fight for the rights of 180 million Pakistanis and for this she does not mind sleeping under the open sky.
When contacted a volunteer who was looking after security issues and asked not to be named, said over 100 tents on both sides of road have been installed and blankets distributed by Minhajul Quran International among the participants to protect them from the cold.
However, there was no proper arrangement of electric heaters and some of the participants burnt logs last night to warm themselves, adding potentially-lethal fire hazards to the area.
The volunteer said areas for garbage collection have been assigned to teams. While collection has not started yet, the volunteer assured that it would begin “later”. Additionally, the plans call for the garbage to be incinerated, most likely on site.
Capital Development Authority spokesperson Ramzan Sajid told The Express Tribune that the civic agency was providing facilities such as water tankers to the participants. He said sanitation workers are also working round-the-clock and more dustbins will be installed at the site.
Try as they might, sanitation staff will have an uphill task keeping up with the sit-in’s production rate.
Edited by Vaqas Asghar
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2013.
COMMENTS (27)
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Muss @ali ahmed: Mussa Gillani is an angel. Her mother Fouzia Gillani took loan of Rs 200 crore. She did not make loan payment. Total loan amount went upto 572 million rupees. Then loan was settled for Rs 45 million. In plain English, she took Rs twenty crore, was liable for Rs fifty seven crore and then paid back four and half crore. That too after more than ten years.
For more information, please go to google and type her name.
@Kiran: No , Toronto returned mullah is not responsible. This is his neighbor, and that is Shattan. This mullah is not a politician. They always leave the exit door open little bit and in case of emergency, they are the first one to leave the scene.
@Concerned: I live in Lahore and FYI Karachi during the British Raj was a safe, beautiful and the cleanest city in the sub-continent. Now its the dirtiest, filthiest and unhygienic city of the world (read World Cities Quality Statistics). Even Lahore has deteriorated with no urban planning by Takht-e-Lahore. People urinate and defecate in the streets. They don't carry paper or water. They use stones that they collect while defecating. Be realistic about your own cities.
out of 272 seats 200 are rural based..again the same corrupt elements will be elected...in the bye election on the vacant seat of ex PM..musa gillani was elected..he lost from urban area but got more votes from rural area
@Billoo Bhaya: Some use toilet paper, others clean stones for the initial dry out. This is followed by thorough washing. That is much better than direct washing.
@Billoo Bhaya: Well, technically that's not true. Muslims tend to use water - from performing ablutions through to cleaning their private parts. You're Indian mate - your cities are either as filthy, or probably filthier than ours (Mumbai, for instance). Who do you think you're kidding, just google 'India hygeine' and you'll see what I mean.
What is the government supposed to do in this case. Ask that man Quadri to build more bathrooms .That can be his first 'public service' project.
“Long march: That foul smell? It’s revolution in the air” It’s revolution in the air. That seems sarcastic and unmindful of the misery of the suffering people.
@ Billoo Bhaya - the stone part was a guidance given when running water wasnt available and toilet paper's did not exist. Most muslims use water for hygiene . Get your record straight !
Apply every law written in books on this anarchist. He should be sent to jail cell for rest of his life and key thrown away. In a free democratic country where independent judiciary can order Prime Minister'ss arrest, where media is absolutely free, only mentaly unstable and crazy person would talk about revolution.
@Sajid Iqbal: @Ad: Do they use toilet paper??? Traditionally they use little Stones with their Hands. That's hygienic???
those who says he is sitting in bullet proof container. why u forget the leader is needed to survive for the masses. BB also came in bullet proof truck and all leaders come in the same arrangements. so it has to be done because leaders are borne rare so cannot be sacrificed on early stages of the revolution. if he dies who is going to take the lead?? and everyone dies at his own time.
All those saying TUQ responsible for these things, why u forgot dears that Govt is responsible for all this. Govt should leave and let the system clean up operation start. Those who says the people sitting here in lines must wait and go to polls. For your information there will never be fair and free elections in Pakistan. I bet there would be heavy corruption in elections irrespective of how much honest the Chief Election commissioner is. what about those working under him, do you consider them equally impartial. If any one considering it to happen either he is supporter of the Govt and his corruption or HE IS LIVING IN A FOOLS PARADISE. (WITH ALL DUE RESPECT)
@ Yoghurt lover, you need to do your research thoroughly. Muslims are thus far the cleanest people that exist on earth when it comes to hygiene!
@Yoghurt lover: Yeah...Ganga is the benchmark of cleaness for the world.
What a shame that such a disgraceful man is made a hero by the media and given sooooo much air time ..... a man who is generating all this waste and disease amongst his 'followers'!
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui: perhaps this interpretation of Mujahid has also been explained by TuQ... otherwise a leader sitting in warm, bulletproof, soundproof, luxurious container cannot be termed as Mujahid.
Why should the corridor of thieves remain the cleanest place in Pakistan...litter the place to a slum-like state so they know what the rest of Pkistan looks like...
The participants and their leader are real Mujahids who are at Islamabad to change the polluted and corrupt system of the country.
It will be far better if these people wait and take the route to polling stations. They decided to follow an illogical and illegal route and so are facing the music. In addition they are destroying their own capital city
TUQ is an irresponsible man. Sitting inside his bullet-proof comfortable container with all amenities available to him, he is cruel to blackmail people into staying there in the cold and risking their health and safety. Pathetic. He is obviously not a good leader.
Its the responsibiltiy of Govt to look after their people and cleanliness ... regardless of TuQ demands ...
Come on ET!
Hygiene is not a strong point of muslims anywhere.
By the way ... your country Pakistan and clean Islamabad also stinks due to corrupt politician, lawlessness, poor governance, electricity and gas load shedding , price hike, inflation, terrorism, unjustice and to name other 1000 reasons ...
Get your record straight!
Sad!
Tahir ul Qadri is responsible for all this miserable condition. I suggest him to please go back to Lahore or Canada.
Long march is fail due to some miss management of Qadri.