IN a bid to keep Karachi clean, city Administrator Iftikhar Shalwani has decided to impose Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to ban people from littering the city. According to a notification, the ban will be in place for next two months and an FIR will be registered against any person found throwing garbage on the streets or at undesignated locations. If people violate the orders, the police will have the right to arrest them.
Though the city of Karachi is faced with multiple problems but the worst amongst them is heaps of garbage that are wreaking havoc with its entire environment and sewerage system. This poses serious risk to lives of the people. No reliable data exists on exact amount of garbage generated but according to some estimates about ten thousand tons of waste is being produced on daily basis. The backlog of millions of tons in the city makes the situation more troubling. In this backdrop, responsibility rests with its residents who are contributors to play their part to keep their surroundings neat and clean. No city in the world can become garbage free unless the citizens cooperate. It is unfortunate that our people put discarded items ranging from construction material to bathroom sinks and bathtubs on the roadside. There are certain areas where trash cans have been placed but still people casually throw plastic bags and snack wrappers on roads and streets. All this is complicating the issue.
Hence city administrator has taken a step in the right direction to control the situation and bring visible improvement. We will suggest him to take an extra step of also imposing heavy fines on all offenders in order to inculcate the habit using trash cans and avoid littering spaces. At the same time, there is also need to inculcate civic sense amongst the people especially youth through massive awareness campaign on the pattern of Covid-19 and anti-Polio drive. Having said so, provincial government and relevant departments cannot be absolved of their responsibility. They need to come up with a holistic approach to address this lingering issue. Sindh Solid Waste Management Board has announced to purchase 200 Qingqi rickshaws to initiate a door-to-door garbage collection system. Apart from an efficient collection system, sites should be identified where the waste could be disposed off as per modern techniques.
