Zubair Qureshi
The civil society representatives and experts on environment while participating in a webinar said a landfill site is the only solution available for the federal capital until the government came up with an Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) solution.
However, they said only 15 percent of the waste shall go to the landfill site after segregation of the waste collected into organic and inorganic.
The reusable and recyclable waste shall be separated particularly. Industrial and hospitals’ toxic waste should not be dumped into the landfill site.
The government should go for the Sangjani landfill site it after addressing the citizens’ concerns and educating them on it.
Some of the participants also highlighted that the Kurri Road landfill site was an ideal place for garbage dumping, even the design was much better and according to the international standards. But, some of the so-called environmentalists and technical experts misguided the citizens to protest against it.
The higher judiciary was also presented with wrong statistics to have an influenced decision to support the vested interest of the land mafia that ultimately benefited Bahria Town owners.
The same is being repeated in the case of Sangjani landfill site with the support of some government officers, environmentalists and technical experts in connivance with the land mafia.
The webinar was organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan).
The keynote speakers included UN Habitat Country Manager Jawed Ali Khan, EMC Chief Operating Officer and former director general Pak-EPA Asif Shuja Khan, Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed, and ISWM expert Saadat Ali.
Others who spoke on the occasion included SDPI Director Environment Dr Imran S Khalid, Prof Sofia Khalid, Sindh Environment Department Deputy Director Abdul Basit Khan, Dr Rashid Miandad from Peshawar, Nima Gurang from Kathmandu (Nepal), and Zia ul Islam, National Programme Manager Ozone Cell of Ministry of Climate Change, and environmentalist Ali Abdullah, Zainab Mukhtar and Uzair Aftab.
Speaking on the occasion, UN Habitat Country Manager Jawed Ali Khan said garbage was no longer considered waste but as a resource. Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed said land mafia agents are opposing the Sangjani landfill site and inciting public protests in connivance with the land mafia. Some of the government officers and pseudo environmentalists are also engaged with the land mafia to build up an opinion against the proposed landfill site. Some black sheep environmentalists and technical experts did the same in the case of Kurri Road landfill site that was ultimately grabbed by a land mafia.
