Today, Islamabad is not what it was designed in 1960 as the city is no more isolated from business and commercial activities while its population has increased from 0.340 million to 1.124 million.
The ever-increasing economic activities gave birth to high-rise buildings, residential apartments, housing schemes, educational institutions, markets and industrial units but the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been unable to take effective steps to solve the sanitation problems and failed to implement its Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) for solid waste management.
Some two years back, the CDA had developed an SOP, which aimed at improving the management of sanitation and solid waste management in Islamabad by establishing a framework for an organised, effective and accountable operation on a daily basis, with more than 500 to 600 metric tonnes of garbage generated every day in the city. Under the SOP, the CDA had divided the city into operational zones, but again it remained unimplemented.
Because of lethargic attitude and sheer negligence, overloaded trolleys transporting garbage and waste dumped on roadsides in every locality are not only an eyesore but also badly affecting the environment of the metropolis and becoming a major health hazard. Construction of hotels including one seven star structure, an international airport, new roads, around 40 large and small housing scheme and the General Head Quarters (GHQ) for army are among the projects, which are in the pipeline for the federal capital.
With the completion of these projects, the natural resources of Islamabad and decades old sewerage system will be strained, while alarming increase in pollution is also among the immediate threats. But unfortunately, but the civic agency is seemingly uninterested in upgrading the obsolete sewage system and adopting a scientific approach for solid waste management. It is an open secret that burden on outdated sewerage system would be further increase in future because the CDA has given permission of construction of high-rise buildings.
According to the original master plan of Islamabad, the construction of only four-storey buildings was allowed at the Blue Area; therefore, the sewerage system was developed according to the needs. The move on the on the part of CDA will first cripple the system in Blue Area, the main business district of the city. Pressure on the current sewerage system started building when the CDA reviewed the original plan in 1980s and allowed construction of six-storey buildings on the southern side of Jinnah Avenue, where the commercial plazas are now located, while high-rise structures of 15 to 19 stories were allowed on the northern edge.
The civic body did review the master plan but failed in taking initiatives to improve the sewerage system to fulfil future requirements. Similarly, the CDA also permitted construction of multi-storey buildings in other parts of Islamabad, which would affect the system across the city. The practice is in complete contrast to the big cities of the world where basic infrastructure is developed and amenities are provided before taking such steps. According to a CDA official, an already overstretched sewerage system cannot absorb the extra burden after the construction of multi-storey buildings.
He cited the example of overflowing sewers and gutters in most of commercial centres to press his point. During a visit to different parts of the city it was observed that open containers were full of solid waste while heaps of garbage was dumped around them. Delay in disposing of the waste by the CDA sanitation staff, comprising 2,000 personnel, is augmenting the problems both in posh and less developed sectors of the city. Because of poor management, the sanitary staff and residents are also throwing waste in the streams.
The CDA official said the practice was resulting in choking of streams flow and environmental problems, adding that most of the streams in the city were now full of waste. Furthermore, the CDA Sanitation Wing has no specific location for placing the garbage containers and most of them are to be found alongside the roads or on the green belts, which is an constant irritant for citizens.
