Behind the beautiful: Nothing French about the France Colony
Capital’s sanitary workers fated to live in dirtiest of conditions
The litter-chocked drain is posing a serious health hazard for the residents. PHOTO COURTESY: Bruce Toombs
ISLAMABAD:
While staring at the slow-flowing discolored water that passes by the front of her house, Rukhsana Allah Ditta, a middle-aged woman residing in the France Colony—a slum in Sector F-7/4 —feels hopeless about the hygiene condition of slums across the capital.
A curvy passageway made out of unbalanced rocks edging the sewage leads to the front door of Allah Ditta’s two bedroom shed — located at a curb about twenty feet higher than the open sewage drain. The narrow route between the house front and drainage allows only one person to cross at a time. The hollow ditch with contaminated water starts from the forests of E-7 and creeps through the city before moving into Rawalpindi. The wall around the drain is full of holes through which human waste and garbage flows, perpetually keeping the sound and stench alive.
The sewage water carries empty wrappers, broken slippers, rags, plastic bottles and other waste material. Garbage keeps piling here with each passing year, making it a haven for waterborne and other diseases, said Allah Ditta. “It gets worse during Monsoon when the water level rises and gushes into our homes, destroying all we own.”
But this is just one of her many worries. She points at the dark edge of the house, covered with rusted old sheets attached to one another, filling in for where a door would belong.
“That is our bathroom,” she says. The dysfunctional tap inside tells its own story — running water is not available in this part of the slum. A mother of six children, Allah Ditta has deputed her older children to fetch water. “My children pick up buckets of water heavier than their body weight from a nearby water tank for the bathroom as well as for drinking and cooking,” she said.
The water tank is a popular place for quarrels and arguments between neighbours said Mushtaq Masih, a laborer and resident of the slums for the past eighteen years. Recalling the time almost two decades ago when he shifted here, Masih said that slum has grown from 300 to 1,200 homes, each with approximately six to eight members.
Approximately Rs100,000 have been put together by residents to install water motors and tanks at measured distances. Trying to cater to as many homes as possible, a total of 200 motors have been installed. Masih said that electricity which was used to operate the water pumps was another issue. “How will the motor work without electricity?” he questioned. “If nothing else, the administration should install hand pumps for us,” Allahdita added.
Moving through the area, a dusted pathway leads to another issue which is more or less ignored by the administration. Pointing at the main drainage, Masih said that the two main drainage systems that pass underground are clogged with garbage. “It’s been like that for years and the administration never takes the initiative to clear it,” he said.
Ironically, a large chunk of the population residing in this squalor consists of the same sanitary workers who ensure the city stays clean. Masih points at a wall that is higher than the tallest rooftop in the slum, explaining the daily routine of those who have blocked the drain.
With many popular restaurants and cafés located in the sector, leftovers are usually dumped here every night. “As our home is a dumpster for many, big hotel owners have permitted their staff to dump trash here, and the administration never takes any action,” he said.
An official from Capital Development Authority seeking anonymity said they were doing all that they can but a proper mechanism needs to be put in place for disposal of restaurant waste, which is not there at the moment. The official said that the situation in slums declared legal is still under control, but the increasing number of encroachers and illegal residents creates new challenge for the administration.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2013.
While staring at the slow-flowing discolored water that passes by the front of her house, Rukhsana Allah Ditta, a middle-aged woman residing in the France Colony—a slum in Sector F-7/4 —feels hopeless about the hygiene condition of slums across the capital.
A curvy passageway made out of unbalanced rocks edging the sewage leads to the front door of Allah Ditta’s two bedroom shed — located at a curb about twenty feet higher than the open sewage drain. The narrow route between the house front and drainage allows only one person to cross at a time. The hollow ditch with contaminated water starts from the forests of E-7 and creeps through the city before moving into Rawalpindi. The wall around the drain is full of holes through which human waste and garbage flows, perpetually keeping the sound and stench alive.
The sewage water carries empty wrappers, broken slippers, rags, plastic bottles and other waste material. Garbage keeps piling here with each passing year, making it a haven for waterborne and other diseases, said Allah Ditta. “It gets worse during Monsoon when the water level rises and gushes into our homes, destroying all we own.”
But this is just one of her many worries. She points at the dark edge of the house, covered with rusted old sheets attached to one another, filling in for where a door would belong.
“That is our bathroom,” she says. The dysfunctional tap inside tells its own story — running water is not available in this part of the slum. A mother of six children, Allah Ditta has deputed her older children to fetch water. “My children pick up buckets of water heavier than their body weight from a nearby water tank for the bathroom as well as for drinking and cooking,” she said.
The water tank is a popular place for quarrels and arguments between neighbours said Mushtaq Masih, a laborer and resident of the slums for the past eighteen years. Recalling the time almost two decades ago when he shifted here, Masih said that slum has grown from 300 to 1,200 homes, each with approximately six to eight members.
Approximately Rs100,000 have been put together by residents to install water motors and tanks at measured distances. Trying to cater to as many homes as possible, a total of 200 motors have been installed. Masih said that electricity which was used to operate the water pumps was another issue. “How will the motor work without electricity?” he questioned. “If nothing else, the administration should install hand pumps for us,” Allahdita added.
Moving through the area, a dusted pathway leads to another issue which is more or less ignored by the administration. Pointing at the main drainage, Masih said that the two main drainage systems that pass underground are clogged with garbage. “It’s been like that for years and the administration never takes the initiative to clear it,” he said.
Ironically, a large chunk of the population residing in this squalor consists of the same sanitary workers who ensure the city stays clean. Masih points at a wall that is higher than the tallest rooftop in the slum, explaining the daily routine of those who have blocked the drain.
With many popular restaurants and cafés located in the sector, leftovers are usually dumped here every night. “As our home is a dumpster for many, big hotel owners have permitted their staff to dump trash here, and the administration never takes any action,” he said.
An official from Capital Development Authority seeking anonymity said they were doing all that they can but a proper mechanism needs to be put in place for disposal of restaurant waste, which is not there at the moment. The official said that the situation in slums declared legal is still under control, but the increasing number of encroachers and illegal residents creates new challenge for the administration.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2013.