PESHAWAR: Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar has turned the Bara River into a dumping site, causing water and air pollution.

The residents of the nearby areas have complained that the river has become a breeding site for flies and mosquitoes after dumping of garbage. They said that they were perturbed by population.

“I wonder why the garbage is being dumped here as it has made our lives miserable,” said Shahid Khan, who was tending his cattle adjacent to the garbage dump. He demanded of the government to stop dumping garbage in the river because it was harmful for the local population.

The students of a government girls’ primary school in Garhi Mosam Khan and inmates of dozens of houses suffer owing to garbage-related problems. Most of the inhabitants of the area are labourers, working in the brick-kiln.

“The government should spry insecticide to curb breeding of mosquitoes and flies,” one of the residents of the area told Dawn. He said that during the sunlight, flies perturbed them while in the nighttime mosquitoes disturbed them.

Locals say river has become breeding place for flies and mosquitoes

Currently, the Bara River is dry. However, during the rain and summer season, the river runs high and the water will take away the entire garbage. The Bara River intermingles with the Kabul River thus it would pollute it and cause the death of aquatic life.

Dr Asif Khan Khattak, an assistant professor at department of environmental sciences, University of Peshawar, told Dawn that the open dumping of garbage in river and near populated area was very harmful for the human beings and fresh water. Unfortunately, he said, municipal waste was not dumped scientifically owing to shortage of funds.

“For proper dumping of the municipal waste, the authorities are required to first dig the land, fill it with concrete and then dump the waste there and cover it with the earth. In this way, the bio-degradation process of the waste would start after sometimes,” he said.

DR Asif said that garbage had some toxic elements, which severely affected aquatic life in the rivers. He added that ultimate destination of the water of the Bara River was Kabul and Indus rivers so the damping of garbage in it was dangerous.

He said that according to different researches, the amount of the garbage had increased in the oceans worldwide which was alarming. “Unscientific dumping of municipal waste and stagnant water are the factories of mosquitoes,” he added.

Dr Asif said that many people died last year due to the dengue fever caused by the mosquitoes. The issue of dumping of waste and related problems could be solved easily but it needed political decisions, he said. “Unfortunately due importance has not been given to the issue,” he said.

It is worth mentioning the Budni Nullah, which carries the city pollutants also pours into the Kabul River.

WSSP Managing Director Khanzaib, when contacted, expressed ignorance about the dumping of garbage in the Bara River. He said that WSSP was dumping solid waste at two places in Shamshato and Musazai.

“We have acquired 819-kanal piece of land for damping garbage in Shamshato area. How it is possible to dump city’s garbage in the Bara River,” he questioned. He said that he would definitely stop it as it was not in his notice.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2018