Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, once known for its beautiful landscapes and greenery is gradually transforming from ‘Islamabad- the Beautiful’, to ‘Islamabad – the not so beautiful’ capital of the country. With the recent surge in construction activities in the capital city, the civic agency has its hands full to notice the dire lack of garbage dumping sites for the rural dwellers of the capital city. The sheer apathy of CDA in taking note of the extreme squalor of the lesser humans, dwelling in the city can be witnessed when one starts to wander around the periphery of the rural areas of the capital city. Skin allergies are already prevalent in the area, and with the advent of summers dengue and malaria will also be on the rise.
While, littering in Islamabad is a crime under clause 5(29) of CDA Environment Protection Regulation 2008 and violators can be fined from Rs50 to Rs300 on the spot, the civic agency has not provided a place of disposing off garbage for the inhabitants of various localities who then have to resort to dumping waste wherever they deem fit.
Talking to Pakistan Today, the residents of some rural and urban localities expressed concern over the situation and the utter apathy of the authorities. They said that the administration had not placed drums or identified points of garbage collection. Left with no other option, they were ‘compelled to use empty plots’.
Ajmal Satti, a resident of Kurri area, said that it was unfortunate that their area had been neglected ever since Islamabad was declared the Federal Capital in 1960’s.
Another resident of the area, Osama Pervaiz, said that the accumulated garbage also posed health hazards to the locals. “There have been increasing complaints of skin and other diseases,” he said. Now, we have heard with the advent of summer the dengue virus will appear again and these dumping sites and open ponds of water may spread further disease,” Pervaiz said adding that the said localities are already facing a shortage of health facilities.
Having 12 Union Council and a population of 0.9 million, the rural area of Islamabad is struggling to have a proper mechanism in place to dispose off garbage. Despite claims, the city administration has failed to launch any project in this connection while open areas of dumping are on the rise.
During a visit of some rural areas, this scribe came to know that for long the locals have been disposing off garbage on self help basis in empty plots located near their houses where it keeps piling up, making the residents vulnerable to diseases and pollution. The residents then resort to burning the waste to make space for new disposals. Residents of Bhara Kahu said that they are, “mostly without access to potable water, sanitation services and a proper school system. Dumping spot for garbage is a dream we have dreamt for long,” they added.
A resident of Phulgan, Nabila Bibi, shared similar concerns. “My children are falling sick every other week, because they do not have picnic spots or recreational places here and hence, wandering with their friends they end up playing on garbage dumping sites” she said adding these sites serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes because of which malaria is quite common here.
In the last decade, Islamabad has been divided into rural and urban areas, leading to increasing its representation in the National Assembly from one to two seats. The neighbouring Rawalpindi city, having a population of five million, has only two NA constituencies.
Replacing Karachi as the country’s capital in 1967 and designed by Constantinos Doxiadis, Islamabad has an area of 907 sq km. It is observed that CDA has worked enormously well in development of infrastructure in urban areas including sanitation and dumping system but rural areas have been neglected.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ali Ahmed said that Islamabad Capital Territory would establish a solid waste system for disposing off waste material in the rural areas. “PC-1 has been forwarded to the Islamabad Development Working Party for final approval. Total cost for the project is expected to be Rs10 million,” he said.
Talking about the details of a disposal mechanism in future, Amir Ali said that according to PC-1, 70 garbage drums would be installed in six Union Councils including Sihala, Koral, Tarlai, Bhara Kahu, and Phulgran and Rawat. “The sanitary workers would lift the garbage and dispose it off at the designated points. However, the decision of dumping sites would be finalised after consultation with the CDA,” he maintained.
