LAHORE: Heaps of wastes have been found on main Waris Road Lahore area while Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has not been paying any heed towards cleaning those piles of garbage whereas the waste is set to burn daily by the locals which is creating serious environmental hazards for the residents of the locality, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Further it was learnt that the waste included garbage collected from the nearby houses and shops while the waste material including plastic bags have piled up outside the container placed for dumping waste as it has overloaded and does not have any further capacity for waste collection and the team of LWMC has not been cleaning the container or the waste piled up on the road around the container.
A car showroom owner on Waris Road Mian Mujtaba said, “Waris Road is one of the main roads linking Jail Road and Queens Road. We have our businesses here and a number of vehicle mechanic workshops as well. At times the waste is burnt which pollutes the air and it becomes difficult for us to breathe and burning of fire can also harm the nearby motor mechanic shops as there is the use of fuel and other combustible items stored in the shops. Several times we have asked the LWMC staff to get this place clean but it doesn’t work and the waste remains there.”
A resident of the area Shumaila Raza said, “Open burning of garbage creates health risks the all those who are exposed directly to the smoke and now we are having severe problems in our houses where there are asthmatic persons. My children who play on the road face respiratory problems now and most of the residents are facing headaches, nausea, and rashes. I see in my neighbourhood that skin rashes, especially to the servants, are becoming common and I am afraid that if this waste is not removed from this location it will harm our health.”
Another resident of the area Muhammad Zain expressed his distress over the situation and said, “I have been asking the LWMC staff of day and evening shift to clean the place but they blame each other for cleaning the place and thus due to the blame game no one picks up the waste neither cleans the container. I fail to understand why such a prime location is being neglected by LWMC.”
While talking about the hazards of burning garbage and waste to the Director of Environment Protection Department Naseem Ur Rehman he said, “Surely burning of garbage and waste pollutes the environment and people should refrain from this act. Best is to take the garbage and waste to the dumping sites and it should not be piled up on roads and streets as once it is burnt it produces gasses which are dangerous for health and cause respiratory diseases. This especially affects people with sensitive respiratory systems, as well as children and the elderly. Exposure to smoke can also increase the risk of heart disease, causes rashes, nausea, and headaches and therefore this should be avoided at all costs.”
While talking to the Director Communication of LWMC Jameel Khawar on the matter, he said, “Our teams check Waris Road regularly and if there is an issue the residents are welcome to call on our helpline or use the android app. In case if the problem of waste management we will take action against the responsible for not completing the job. LWMC aims at keeping the city clean and we are trying our best to maintain it.”
