MURAD BASRAWI WRITES – Pakistan faces a growing problem with people disposing garbage, toxic household waste, and chemicals in public areas. In response, some areas in Pakistan are urgently passing laws banning the dumping of garbage in public places, reports Dawn, the widely respected newspaper published in Islamabad.
The province of Sindh has passed such a law in an effort to address the problem, particularly in the city of Karachi. The law was approved on the recommendation of a water commission appointed by the Supreme Court. The Home Department has instructed law enforcement to arrest citizens who violate the ban, with arrests having already been made.
According to Adil Khan, a station police officer, Karachi police recently apprehended two people for dumping garbage on a road — arrested under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code for “disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant.” According to Khan, the ban was enacted because dumping trash creates pollution in the air, soil, and water, affecting agricultural products and thus the quality of what people consumer.
For many years, the Sindh government has been having trouble managing Karachi’s poor garbage situation. Garbage rises in piles everywhere, and open spaces are strewn with trash, waste, and even toxic chemicals. Although there isn’t much data regarding the exact amount of garbage and waste disposed in public places on a daily basis in Karachi, many people estimate the total to be in the thousands of tons. Everyone agrees that the garbage and waste is ugly, dangerous, unhealthy, and a growing problem.
The newspaper Dawn is Pakistan’s oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. It is one of the country’s three largest English dailies – the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers.