Negligence: Roadside dump or dump-side road?

Segment of service road near Dhoke Kala Khan blocked by rubbish.

RAWALPINDI:

Due to the negligence of the city managers, a service road along a highway has become a dumping ground for nearby localities. 

Heaps of garbage have piled up all along the service road from Faizabad to Khanapul and a whole portion of the road near Dhoke Kala Khan has been blocked by the rubbish dump.

The garbage heap has blocked off much of the road, leaving only part of one lane usable. Unsurprisingly the road frequently sees traffic snarl-ups around this area.

Locals said that sanitation workers threw garbage from a trash-filled stream on the road last Friday after clearing it.

“It’s sad to that the road blocked because of garbage dumping. Where are we living?” asked Muhammad Ismail, a resident of Dhoke Kala Khan.

He said that inhabitants of the area have lodged several complaints with the city government for clearing the road, but to no avail.

The service road has additional importance because in case of any emergency, traffic from the main expressway is diverted on to it.

“What nonsense is this? Instead of clearing the road, sanitation staff blocked it by dumping the garbage in the middle,” said Shrafat Khan, a local resident.

Locals demanded that the Punjab chief minister take note of the “criminal negligence” of the solid waste management department.

When contacted, Solid Waste Management Executive District Officer Dr Mazhar said that the garbage would be cleared from the road on Friday. Answering a question, he said that his department has nothing to do with dumping garbage on the road and claimed locals had been throwing their household trash there.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2014.