ISLAMABAD: A road in the planned I-12 sector has beenwashed away by the monsoon rain because of the dumping of garbage and subsequent blockage of drains in the area.

According to a Sept 19 letter, the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) sector development directorate told the member engineering, director sanitation and other officials that a road near I-12 Markaz had eroded because of blocked drains.

The CDA’s municipal area generates between 750 and 800 metric tons of garbage daily but has no permanent landfill site. Instead, the authority shifts temporary landfill sites from one area to another.

In letter, sector development directorate says dumping of garbage in I-12 has led to blocked drainage lines, erosion of road

The letter states that garbage has been dumped in the I-12 Markaz area for a long time, blocking the flow of sewage in drainage lines.

It said the dumping of municipal garbage should be stopped and the drainage system should be cleared to protect the built portion close to the I-12 Markaz.

The sanitation directorate, which deals with the aforementioned dumping site, was devolved to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) after the formation of the local government in 2016.

In August, the sanitation directorate had asked the CDA to allocate a permanent landfill site as the temporary site in I-12 had reached maximum capacity.

In an official letter, Director Sanitation Sardar Khan Zimri said his directorate was facing difficulties disposing garbage and municipal solid waste every day, and meeting the frequent fire incidents caused by inappropriate waste disposal.

He also highlighted that the landfill site is located by I.J. Principal Road and is in close proximity to Rawalpindi’s residential areas. Some portions of the dumping site have also affected areas in its vicinity.

“Although, all-out efforts are being made to contain outdoor/littering problem by covering the waste with soil, some portion of it affects the areas in vicinity,” he wrote.

An Islamabad Environmental Tribunal had also recently directed the CDA to move the landfill to an appropriate site, and fined the authority Rs200,000.

When contacted, the director sanitation said he was aware of the letter from the sector development directorate, adding that it might be that a portion of the road had been damaged by seeping. He said he would look into the matter.

He added that his directorate was not at fault, as the CDA’s planning wing had been asked to earmark a new site on several occasions because the existing one has reached its capacity.

The lack of a permanent landfill site is one of the major challenges facing the authority, CDA officials told Dawn.

They said that in the last attempt to resolve this issue, a site was explored in Sangjani months ago, but no serious attempt was made to reach a decision.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2018