Keeping it clean: Eid ends but cleanliness drive nowhere near over
Over 23,000 complaints of waste lying in the city were registered, says KMC official.
Meat of the sacrificial animals is taken to a vendor for mincing. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD SAQIB/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
To clean the city of offal and remains of sacrificial animals during Eidul Azha, the Karachi administration carried out a cleanliness drive in all five districts of the city. But while some residents were happy, others complained of the same poor performance as the years before.
Anique Ahmed, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony, said that no one had come to collect the offal and remains of animals which were lying outside the Azeempura Graveyard since the first day of Eid. “It’s the third day of Eid and no one can go through the area due to the stench,” said Ahmed.
Hira Sultana, a resident of Gulshan-e-Maymar, said there was no KMC staff or machinery in the area for the last three days. A ‘housing society committee’ used to collect garbage but this time around they didn’t show up either, she lamented. “The residents were charged Rs1,000 every month in the name of maintenance, but no one was there to clean the area when it was needed the most,” she said, adding that such conditions compelled people to throw out the offal and remains of animals from the residential areas on their own.
Ismail Ameen, a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13-D, however, was satisfied with KMC’s performance, saying that their vehicles kept coming back to collect garbage every 10 to 15 minutes. “I haven’t seen any major problem in my area. They have done a good job this year.”
The city-wide campaign was launched to curb pollution with the cooperation of government institutions, non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector. Around 10,000 staffers along with 4,800 vehicles took part in the drive to clean roads and streets in all the union councils, said KMC Municipal Services’ senior director Masood Alam. He said that 22 dumping points were established in all five districts where the offal and remains of sacrificial animals were brought for proper disposal.
On the first day of Eid, Alam said that 481,959 offal were collected and dumped in the designated areas, 266,316 offal were collected on the second day and more than 100,000 offal was collected on the third day.
The waste was dumped in the Mewa Shah Graveyard, Malir Causeway, Sector 7-D3 of North Karachi, Landhi and a few other areas, said Alam, adding that the drive has cost KMC around Rs20-25 million in three days.
Commenting on the offal and remains lying on the streets and other areas, Alam said that the KMC took a lot of time in cleaning up the city as there was no flow of information at the union councils’ level. He said that over 23,000 complaints were registered regarding offal and remains of animals in the three days of Eid, adding that the complaints were successfully solved on time. “But if the communication had been better, the staffers and machinery would have taken less time to complete the tasks.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2013.
To clean the city of offal and remains of sacrificial animals during Eidul Azha, the Karachi administration carried out a cleanliness drive in all five districts of the city. But while some residents were happy, others complained of the same poor performance as the years before.
Anique Ahmed, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony, said that no one had come to collect the offal and remains of animals which were lying outside the Azeempura Graveyard since the first day of Eid. “It’s the third day of Eid and no one can go through the area due to the stench,” said Ahmed.
Hira Sultana, a resident of Gulshan-e-Maymar, said there was no KMC staff or machinery in the area for the last three days. A ‘housing society committee’ used to collect garbage but this time around they didn’t show up either, she lamented. “The residents were charged Rs1,000 every month in the name of maintenance, but no one was there to clean the area when it was needed the most,” she said, adding that such conditions compelled people to throw out the offal and remains of animals from the residential areas on their own.
Ismail Ameen, a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13-D, however, was satisfied with KMC’s performance, saying that their vehicles kept coming back to collect garbage every 10 to 15 minutes. “I haven’t seen any major problem in my area. They have done a good job this year.”
The city-wide campaign was launched to curb pollution with the cooperation of government institutions, non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector. Around 10,000 staffers along with 4,800 vehicles took part in the drive to clean roads and streets in all the union councils, said KMC Municipal Services’ senior director Masood Alam. He said that 22 dumping points were established in all five districts where the offal and remains of sacrificial animals were brought for proper disposal.
On the first day of Eid, Alam said that 481,959 offal were collected and dumped in the designated areas, 266,316 offal were collected on the second day and more than 100,000 offal was collected on the third day.
The waste was dumped in the Mewa Shah Graveyard, Malir Causeway, Sector 7-D3 of North Karachi, Landhi and a few other areas, said Alam, adding that the drive has cost KMC around Rs20-25 million in three days.
Commenting on the offal and remains lying on the streets and other areas, Alam said that the KMC took a lot of time in cleaning up the city as there was no flow of information at the union councils’ level. He said that over 23,000 complaints were registered regarding offal and remains of animals in the three days of Eid, adding that the complaints were successfully solved on time. “But if the communication had been better, the staffers and machinery would have taken less time to complete the tasks.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2013.