MULTAN: Solid waste management is getting tougher in the fifth largest metropolitan of the country adding to environmental pollution and endangering hundreds of thousands dweller to serious health hazards.
With an urban population of just over 2.1 million, the city daily generates around 1300 tone solid, industrial and hospital waste of which the local authorities have the capacity to only collect only 700 tone waste.
The only landfill site used by Multan Waste Management Company (MWMC) since 2013 is now filled up to the brim, leaving MWMC staff with no option to identify another place to dump the waste.
The concerned authorities have described the shortage of staff and resource constraint behind uncollected waste as the situation is getting tougher with every passing day due to population influx as well as proper mechanism of waste segregation and treatment.
“We have the capacity to collect only 700 tone waste daily against a daily bulge of 1300 tone,” said Manager Operations MWMC Anwar-ul-Haq. “The company is covering 68 urban Union Councils housing over two million people with only 2200 staff including 1500 sanitary workers.”
“Expecting 100 percent results with such staff strength was unjust,” the Manager Operations said, revealing that no recruitment of workforce or acquisition of new machinery was made since 2013.
‘The Hospital Management Rules’ were introduced in 2005 necessitating yellow-bagged waste to be disposed by burning and then dump it at a landfill site or dispose it of through any other method approved by the concerned Federal or Provincial agencies.
In 2012, the Punjab government had established Waste Management Companies in big cities for swift cleanliness arrangements in the major cities but the objective is yet to be fully achieved in case of Multan due to certain factors despite MWMC fully operational since 2014.
Keeping in view the urgency, the Manager Operation said that the company Board of Directors (BoD) recently approved recruitment of 500 workers and procurement of over 100 vehicles at a cost of Rs 170 million in first phase. “These measures would help evolve a swift sanitation system to ensure proper waste disposal.”
Although, the officials are busy locating an alternate place to use landfill site, yet there are other issues like hazards of dumping waste in open, proper segregation of house, industrial and hospital waste and having different landfill sites for it.
Lack of professional human resource to collect and properly dump or treat solid waste is yet another reason contributing to environmental degradation and hazards to human health.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) MWMC Muhammad Farooq Dogar said that international standards require a sanitary worker deployed for every 1000 persons for proper sanitation and waste management. “This is missing in our case. To fill the gap of company’s limitations, special campaigns are launched periodically targeting specific areas to cover maximum, if not 100 per cent.”
Moreover, he said, there was no practice of solid waste segregation to manage different kinds of waste properly. “Waste segregation would ensure proper management and disposal in accordance with the nature of waste.”
Officials are busy these days, in searching a new landfill site and locations including 17-Kassi, Labar Morr and Head Muhammad Wala are in focus. A plan is also under consideration to develop a park at Habiba Siyal landfill site to avoid environmental pollution.
Talking of equipment, Farooq Dogar said the waste collection containers have completed their life span running for nine years instead of three years specific period.
He pleaded to raise the workforce number to 3500 besides procurement of more machinery to cover maximum area of the urban population.
He also proposed to enhance the number of present 12 transfer stations to 20 where primary waste is gathered for onward transportation to dumping site.
“It is our utmost endeavor to collect maximum waste generated daily,” he said. “Our mission is to provide healthy living conditions and better environment to Multanites.”
Assistant Director Environment Hameed Akhtar said, environment should be made part of curriculum to raise awareness on the issue right from primary level.
He said, since there is no mechanism in vogue in the city to segregate waste, there is always risk of diseases outbreak due to dumping infectious and hazardous industrial and hospital waste in open.
Meanwhile, the residents have called upon the civic agencies to ensure proper collection and disposal of waste also urging residents to cooperate with Waste Management Company.
“It is our collective responsibility to keep our city clean. The people should cooperate with sanitary workers and throw the waste only into the containers or places designated by the company,” said a citizen Shafiq Bhatti.
Another citizen Tanvir Shakir suggested community participation in the whole exercise. “The waste management company should divide city into wards and engage local notables to educate people in their respective area in cleanliness.” He said that citizens should also hand over the waste to sanitary workers instead of throwing it on roads or streets.
