Garbage transfer station yet to be shifted as RWMC fails to find alternative place

Rawalpindi: The bad news for the citizens of Rawalpindi is that they will face bad smell as per routine even in the future for an indefinite period because the concerned department has failed to find an alternative land to shift the Garbage Transfer Station from Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) Managing Director Rana Sajid told ‘The News’ here on Sunday.

He said that RWMC could not shift the transfer station from Liaquat Bagh as they could not space on the outskirts of the city to shift it. So, we have decided to stay here at Liaquat Bagh for an indefinite period, he said.

Like every other populous city of the country, Rawalpindi is no different when it comes to garbage collection and disposal, the residents complain of foul odour and contend that local administration is missing whereas those in charge claim that all is well.

The medical experts said that locals of Rawalpindi have been facing skin and lung diseases due to bad smell for 10 years. “Currently, most of our patients are those affected by the polluted air of the dumping site. These include the elderly and the adolescent as their immune systems are weak.” The medical experts implored the local administration to take their responsibilities seriously as it was making living in Rawalpindi a nightmare.

In 10 years, every commissioner, deputy commissioner, managing director of Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC), and political leadership assured to remove this ‘Garbage Transfer Station’ but in vain.

Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) from PP-17, Rawalpindi Raja Muhammad Hanif said that they were working on removing this ‘Garbage Transfer Station’ to another out-of-city area. He also admitted that locals were facing foul smell round the clock due to ‘Garbage Transfer Station’ near Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.

The federal capital’s congested yet vibrant twin city, produces close to 1500 tons of solid waste daily and three different organisations are responsible for collecting it and disposing of it namely, Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC), Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and Chaklala Cantonment Board. Despite the responsibility being divided between the three, residents of the city complain that the trash is piling up in every nook and corner and the disposal site of the waste is making life miserable.

The residents who frequent the RDA office, Wasa building, schools around Murree Road, or the commercial areas on Liaquat Road or have their humble abodes in the Arya Mohalla, Raja Bazaar, Bara Market, City Saddar Road, Gawalmandi area contend that the main transfer station of solid waste established by the RWMC at Liaquat Bagh, a central area of the city, reeks throughout the day and hinders daily life.

The nearby government and private schools and colleges have filed several complaints to remove this transfer station because children were facing skin and eye allergies due to this ‘Garbage Transfer Station’. The higher authorities were not considering it seriously, the locals complained.

Talking to ‘The News’ locals of Rawalpindi appealed to the Punjab government to shift this transfer station from Liaquat Bagh. The women’s park adjacent to Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Liaquat Bagh, the one which was destroyed during the Metro Bus Project in March 2014 is now being used as a solid waste dumping point.

The park which spreads over two acres was constructed in 2005 for Rs4.5 million and was turned into a makeshift transfer station by the local administration at that time. A model bazaar worth Rs27 million was constructed on a vacant piece of land near the park, and because the local administration did not manage to attract business owners to the market, the project failed.

The then commissioner, Zahid Saeed had promised that the park would be reconstructed after work on the metro bus project is completed. He was then promoted and stationed in Lahore and the local administration did not hand over the space to the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA).

The key post officers from RWMC on condition of anonymity said that the whole department has gone to the dogs due to the corrupt mafia. Over 50 per cent of garbage lifting vehicles were out of order for a long time. Every year on Eidul Azha, the concerned management brings private vehicles for garbage lifting from city areas, the officers claimed. The officers also said that several officers including a former MD were facing cases in NAB on the charges of corruption in RWMC for years.

The officers also said that RWMC was utilising the site as a garbage dumping site without permission from the Punjab government. While Punjab government ordered at that time to hand over the park to the Parks and Horticultural Authority (PHA) after finishing the Metro Bus Project work. The local administration, Rawalpindi strictly violated the directions of the Punjab government, the officers said.

PHA former Director General Malik Abid confirmed that the park had not yet been handed over to the authority. PHA wrote a letter to the local administration asking them to show any letter written by the Punjab government directing them to use the site as a dumping site for solid waste,” he said. He said PHA was still waiting to be allocated funds for the park’s redevelopment and said he hoped that the issue will soon be solved so that women have a recreational space once again.