Spick and span: In Rawalpindi, taking out trash, the Turkish way

Foreign company to start waste disposal work in collaboration with RWMC next week.

RAWALPINDI:

Life may soon never be the same again for Rawalpindi’s residents in terms of taking out the trash as Turkish company al Bayrak is all set to initiate waste disposal work in Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) Managing Director (MD) Irfan Ahmad Qureshi told The Express Tribune the Turkish company would start working in the garrison city within a week after RWMC signed a seven-year contract with al Bayrak two months ago.

He said the Turkish company would also carry out mechanical washing and sweeping of the city’s roads and also train RWMC staff to use advanced machinery, adding that door-to-door waste collection would also be initiated soon for public benefit.

The Turkish company will work in collaboration with RWMC in 63 union councils, including 46 in Rawal Town, 16 in Potohar Town and one in Murree, informed the MD. He further said the Turkish company has brought modern waste disposal machinery which will be handed over to RWMC after seven years, adding that around two months are required for the complete mobilisation of the machines.

RWMC is already transporting waste from Rawalpindi to Losar landfill near Rawat, some 27 kilometres from Rawalpindi, he informed. The MD said eight RWMC vehicles are already working in the city and 270 containers will also be provided to the staff within a couple of days.

Talking about Murree, which falls within Rawalpindi Division, Qureshi said RWMC had also initiated waste disposal work in the hill station. He explained that the company was transporting about 65 tons of waste from Murree to Losar landfill on a daily basis, covering a distance of 70 kilometres. “We are doing everything we can to give Murree a neat and clean look as it is the most visited tourist site in the country,” he said.

He informed The Express Tribune that RWMC has also been given the responsibility of cleaning 11 streams passing through the garrison city which flow into Nullah Leh. He said they have completed 80 to 90 per cent of work on the streams and those that remain are situated near the airport and have been delayed due to security issues.

Highlighting the potential flood risk that accompanies the annual monsoon rains, Qureshi said it was necessary to clear the streams annually before the rains to avoid flood risk as residents habitually dump waste in them.

RWMC has also planned to start community awareness programmes to make sure the public knows about the dangers of hazardous waste material, he said, adding that without active participation of the community no waste disposal project can be entirely successful.

Talking about the performance of RWMC, he said they have reduced expenditures by curtailing the fuel consumption from 5,000 litres per day to 3,000. He added that the company has also launched an operation against 250 ghost employees of which 100 have been kicked out. He said that Rs2 million in savings created by the dismissals will be used for various development projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2014.