Waste management still a nightmare for Karachi: Altaf

Despite spending billions of rupees annually, solid waste management remains a nightmare for Karachi and the government has no idea how to reduce the growing piles of garbage in the megacity, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Altaf Shakoor said on Sunday. He said infectious diseases are on the rise in Karachi due to rotting, uncollected garbage, which is also a major environmental problem.

He said that other countries recycle their waste and also get electricity out of it, but for us, instead of revenue and energy generation, it is a big headache. He gave the example of Denmark and said that fifty percent of the waste is recycled, 23% is incinerated with energy recovery, 26% is landfilled and 1% is given special treatment. For household waste alone, the corresponding figures were: about 22% recycled, 58% is incinerated with energy recovery and 20% is landfilled.

He said that a Cogen plant was built in Karachi to use waste to generate electricity but it was closed before it started working for ‘mysterious’ reasons. He said that a certain mafia in the government is against generating electricity from solid waste. He said that these economic hit men are in fact present in every sector and are doing their best to hinder the improvement of our society and economy.

He said that every time there is a rainfall, the entire megacity stinks of uncollected rotten garbage. He said that now the monsoon rains are coming and so are the attacks of diseases and infections but the municipal administration and foreign contractors for waste collection are still fast asleep. He said that illegal encroachments have blocked the natural waterways of Karachi and both the rivers of Karachi, Lyari and Malir have been turned into gutter drains and mini dumping grounds.

He said that in 2016, the Sindh government had taken over the task of solid waste management from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and established a Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB).

Contracts for the removal of waste in the city were given to Chinese contractors but these contractors have failed miserably in their task. He said that it seems that these contracts were given after taking heavy bribes and kickbacks but there is no agency ready to investigate this mega scam.