ISLAMABAD: More than 17,600 tonnes of offal and remains of sacrificial animals were disposed of in the capital and Rawalpindi during the three days of Eidul Azha.

Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi lauded the efforts of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman and Chief Commissioner Islamabad Mohammad Ali Randhawa and his team.

For the first time in Islamabad’s history, CDA, capital administration, police and Safe City jointly completed zero waste city operation, the civic body claimed in a statement.

According to details, special arrangements were made to collect and dispose of remains and offal of more than 150,000 sacrificial animals.

In this context, more than 100 deep ditches were dug at 56 places, where the remains of sacrificial animals were disposed of scientifically. In this operation, CDA, capital administration, police and all departments worked together and maintained the title: “Islamabad a c.

CDA, ICT admin, police and Safe City participated in operation; about 5,000 sanitary workers performed duties in garrison city

In order to achieve the desired results, the city was divided into five zones.

Sectors F-5, F-6 and Blue Area were included in Zone-I. Faisal Mosque, E-7, F-7, G-8 in Zone-II; Zone-III comprised F-10, F-11, Golra Sharif, G-9, G-10, G-11, whereas sectors H-8, H-9, H-10, H-11, I-8, I-9 and I-10 fell in Zone-IV. The highway, Model Village Humak, Shahzad Town, Rawal Town and Margalla Town were included in Zone-V.

Besides, the rural areas of Islamabad including Bari Imam, Banigala, Sohan, Khanna, Karal, Tarlai, Alipur, Lehtrar Road, Bhara Kahu, Jhangi Syedan, Tarnol, Sangjani, Sarai Kharbooza and Shah Allah Ditta were kept clean and all facilities were provided.

Each zone was supervised by chief sanitary inspectors while sanitary inspectors and supervisors were deputed in sectors.

In this regard, the leaves of CDA Sanitation Directorate staff were cancelled and all the staff performed duty on an emergency basis to keep the city clean.

In this special operation, more than 2,500 sanitary staff, supervisory staff and officers remained on their toes. More than 200 vehicles such as tractor trolleys, compactors, trucks, dumpers, shovels and dozers were utilised.

Eco-friendly biodegradable bags were introduced for the first time in the history of Islamabad. Bags were distributed free of cost among the citizens all over Islamabad including rural areas so that the citizens could safely hand over the wastes of sacrificial animals to the cleaning staff.

Biodegradable bags naturally decompose in the soil and do not have any adverse effects on the environment. All operations were monitored from a central control room established in Safe City.

This cleanliness operation had three parts. In the first part, sanitary workers visited door to door to collect waste and gather it at one point.

Mechanised collection was done by other mini-tipper vehicles. During the third part, waste from large piles was collected through dumpers and front-end loaders at designated disposal points.

In this regard, 1,750 tonnes of waste was collected and disposed of on the first day of Eid, 757.67 tonnes on the second day and 109.85 tonnes on the third day.

In total, during this operation, the remains of more than 150,000 sacrificial animals were destroyed during the three days of Eid in Islamabad.

On the instructions of CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner Mohammad Ali Randhawa, all facilities including food and cold drinking water were provided to the staff in the field to continue the cleaning operation without interruption.

After the Zero Waste City operation was completed, the process of washing the traces of blood and other substances from various markets and across the city began. In this regard, lime powder was also sprinkled in places after washing to keep the atmosphere of the city clean and free from unpleasant smells.

The CDA and the district administration had made adequate arrangements to remove litter from the rural areas of Islamabad so that the rural areas could also be kept clean. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi congratulated CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa and his entire team.

Rawalpindi

The Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) and Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards disposed of as many as 14,950 tonnes of animal waste on Eidul Azha in a bid to keep the city clean.

The RWMC completed its Eid cleaning operation and got rid of more than 9,000 tonnes of sacrificial animal waste in Rawalpindi, Murree, Gujar Khan, Taxila, Kallar Syedan and Kahuta in three days, resolving all the 500 complaints received regarding cleanliness.

Commissioner Aamir Khattak, Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema, and RWMC Chief Executive Officer Rana Sajid Safdar also visited the city on the three days of Eid to inspect the cleanliness operations.

They expressed satisfaction with the work and appreciated the services of the sanitary workers, calling them “frontline soldiers” who completed a difficult task through hard work.

RWMC spokesman Nasir Mir said that 3,832 workers and 485 vehicles took part in the clean-up operation and 200,000 waste bags were distributed among the citizens for the animal waste.

He said that the cleanliness operation was completed by Wednesday evening after three days during which the workers worked round the clock. He added that as many as 17 permanent and 43 mobile transfer stations were set up in the city and tehsils, which were demolished after the culmination of Eid cleaning operations on the third day.

The RWMC also set up 12 awareness camps where pamphlets and waste bags besides complaint numbers were distributed among the citizens, detailing guidelines regarding the disposal of the offals.

Separately, the Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) also completed its cleanliness operation on Wednesday and lifted 750 tonnes of offals and animal waste. The statement said the sanitation staff was present in the field despite the rain to clear the streets of garbage.

According to the spokesman, 450 tonnes of garbage was disposed of on the first day and 300 tonnes was disposed of in 10 wards of Chaklala Cantonment Board on the last two days of Eid.

The officials of the Chaklala Cantonment Board also visited different areas to monitor the operation. The Cantt administration also installed awareness banners in different areas to raise awareness as well as delivered waste bags to residents to dump their waste.

Similarly, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) lifted 5,200 tonnes of animal waste from the cantonment areas during Eidul Azha. The press release said that as many as 700 sanitary workers took part in the cleanliness drive and shifted the animal waste from residential areas to the landfill site outside Rawalpindi.

It said that during three days, as many as 205 complaints had been received but all the problems had been resolved within a few hours.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024