Rome Votes In Mayoral Polls Dominated By Rubbish And Boars

Rome, Oct 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Oct, 2021 ) :The people of Rome voted on Sunday to elect a new mayor who will have the daunting task of tackling poor public transport and disastrous rubbish management in the Italian capital, dubbed one of the dirtiest cities in the world.

Across the country from the Eternal City to Milan, Naples and Bologna, the two-day municipal elections, which will wrap up on Monday, were being closely watched as a bellwether ahead of 2023 general elections.

But in Rome -- one of the world's filthiest cities, according to a ranking last month by the British magazine Time Out -- residents are more concerned with the perennial transport, flooding, waste and pothole woes.

Rubbish management is so bad that wild boars are regularly seen wandering in residential areas, attracted by the pile-up of waste.

In the picturesque neighbourhood of Trastevere, where bins often overflow onto the cobblestones, 60-year-old resident Tiziana De Silvestro, out walking her dog, said the root of the problem was rubbish left overnight outside bars and restaurants.

"Now the city is full of animals, crows, seagulls, not to mention mice and cockroaches," she said.