Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad Serves Another Reminder To CDA For Acquiring Landfill Site In Sangjani

The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has issued third reminder to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for acquiring the land identified as a permanent landfill site near Sangjani since the existing garbage dumping area in I-12 sector reached its full capacity rather overflowing

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jan, 2019 ) :The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has issued third reminder to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for acquiring the land identified as a permanent landfill site near Sangjani since the existing garbage dumping area in I-12 sector reached its full capacity rather overflowing.

The MCI Sanitation Directorate has asked the CDA to make necessary arrangements for setting up permanent landfill sites to dump the city garbage.

Following the high influx of public complaints received through MCI complaint cell and Pakistan Citizen Portal, the MCI has written third time to the authorities concerned to confirm the allocation of landfill site near Sangjani, official sources told APP.

In a letter addressed to the Member Planning & Design and Member Estate, CDA, the MCI stated that the site allocated in sector 1-12 by the Planning Wing in 2012 for the final disposal of about 750-800 metric tons of garbage and municipal solid waste on daily basis was running out of space for further utilization.

The directorate was facing great hardships in daily disposal of garbage, especially in the rainy weather due to expiry of the site, the letter added.

The existing landfill site was located near to the IJP Road and in between the Social Security Hospital and Construction Technology Training Institute (CTTI) University, due to which people of the area complained stench and environmental degradation.

The department reiterated in the letter that an appropriate site may be allocated to the Sanitation Directorate without any delay in finalizing permanent landfill site by considering the minimum hauling distance, suitable topography of the land, out of residential areas, distant from Air-Craft route for flight safety and socio-environmental factors.

Meanwhile, the resident of the Federal capital were continuously suffering from the stench of heaps of garbage gathered around the waste bins of different sizes installed across the capital, one of the archaic strategy of Capital Development Authority (CDA) to handle the total generated trash of Islamabad.

The trash trollies aimed at giving the city a civilized look, are somehow becoming breeding places for mosquitoes and creating health hazards for the public as they were not being properly covered.However, the authorities concerned could not materialize a single scientific project to recycle this material.

The residents of the different sectors including G-6, G-7, G-8, G-9, G-10, I-8, I-9, I-10 and other also complained about the untimely cleaning of these waste bins which was also making them more prone to communicable diseases like Malaria, Dengue and diarrhoea.

Talking to this agency, Director Sanitation of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad Sardar Khan Zimri said that the Corporation was taking different measures to keep the city clean by fully utilizing resources at its disposal, citing the paucity of funds to properly handle the trash generated in the capital.

The Director informed that the MCI was in the process of consultation with different entities, for the waste disposal without impacting the environment and general health.

Highlighting the options considered by the civic authority over the years, Zimri stressed for materializing the waste-to-energy plant project which would play a significant role in bringing down littering in the capital to zero level and provide the city a civilized look.

Muhammad Ishtiaq, a government employee in sector I-9 called for placing these waste-containers outside the localities and practice of placing it before homes, shops, schools and playing grounds must be discouraged. "We are forced to keep our doors and windows shut to avoid this uninvited adversity," he said.

He urged the authorities concerned that if they could not put these uncovered bins outside the localities, at least it should apply insecticide or lime-powder on these over-stuffed dumpster.