ISLAMABAD, April 5: Civic agencies in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are facing hardships in disposing of solid waste as about 300 tons waste remains un-lifted only in the federal capital daily, officials told Dawn on Thursday.

It has been learnt that within the last two years total per day solid waste production in Islamabad has increased by 100 tons due to fast growth in housing schemes.

Out of the 700 tons daily waste, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) can lift only 400 tons and the remaining 300 tons end up in streets and on the roadsides.

The officials said the main cause behind the civic agencies’ inability to lift the garbage was shortage of resources.

“Due to lack of adequate machinery we are unable to properly dispose of the garbage,” said the CDA sanitation director, Mohammad Faiz, while talking to Dawn.

He said the attention of the civic body’s bosses had been drawn towards the problem but no action was being taken.

Another official said one of the main problems being faced by the civic agency was lack of proper waste dumping site. As a result, he added, a temporary dumping ground had been established in Sector I-12.

He said solid waste could be used as a source of renewable energy but the CDA had no such plan at present. “A couple of days back four private companies signed an agreement with the CDA to lift the waste from the temporary site to use it for renewable energy,” the official said.

A senior citizen, Abdul Jabbar, who lives in Sector I-10, added that the CDA staff dumped solid waste in open plots in the locality which made the environment stinking.

“We have lodged complaints many times with the CDA bosses but no action is being taken to stop dumping of waste in the open places,” he said.

In 2005, the CDA had planned to establish a modern dumping site at Kurri near Chak Shehzad but the residents of the area and environmentalists opposed the project and moved the courts. They were of the view that the dumping site would pollute the environment and the Rawal Dam.

Similarly, the local bodies of Rawalpindi, including Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and Town Municipal Administration, are also facing problems in waste disposal; as a result, heaps of garbage can be seen in all localities of the city.

The civic agency of the city in collaboration with the government of Japan, JICA and the UNDP had launched a solid waste management environment project in March 1998 but the project did not give the desired results.

The officials said daily production of garbage in the city was 750 tons and the TMA could lift only 40 per cent of it.

It is feared that due to lack of dumping sites and proper disposal of garbage, fatal diseases can break out in the twin cities.