LAHORE: Local Government & Community Development (LG&CD) Department has devised a holistic plan to implement a new model of waste collection in the province. According to the newly devised plan, the solid waste collected from door to door will be shifted directly to the dumping site.
Provincial Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq shared this information while chairing a meeting at Civil Secretariat on Friday. Secretary LG&CD Shakeel Ahmed Mian and Additional Secretary Maria Tariq were also present in the meeting.
Chief minister’s ‘Suthra Punjab’ programme was reviewed in detail during the meeting and various suggestions were discussed for the implementation of the new model of sanitation in the provincial capital. It was also decided in the meeting to monitor the cleaning operation through artificial intelligence. Addressing the meeting, the provincial minister said that garbage will be collected from every house under the supervision of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC). He added that instead of dumping garbage at different points, it will be directly moved to the dumper. He said that LWMC will provide waste bins in every house and the garbage will be emptied into the dumper twice a week.
Zeeshan Rafiq said that the new model will be implemented in the housing schemes of LDA in the first phase. He directed the LWMC to submit a plan in this regard within 24 hours. He pointed out that the garbage is often thrown at empty plots to pollute the environment but this practice should come to an end now. “Garbage should not accumulate at any place, but will be moved along according to a specific schedule”, he directed.
Expressing his satisfaction over the ongoing drive to clean the roads in the cities to deal with danger of smog, the minister noted that dust was the main cause of air pollution. Secretary Local Government Shakeel Ahmed Mian directed the LWMC to prepare a presentation, vowing that the current sanitation system will be replaced by an effective system for better service delivery.
Special cleanliness drive under way
Under the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's Suthra Punjab initiative, a series of special cleanliness operations is under way in nine towns of Lahore.
Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) teams are working to enhance the city's cleanliness. In this connection a comprehensive cleaning operation is in progress, particularly in Ravi Town, where over 900 LWMC workers and more than 130 operational vehicles have been deployed for the cleanliness purpose.
Special cleanliness teams have been deployed around key areas, such as Bhati Chowk, Azadi Flyover, Badami Bagh, Fort Road, Food Street, Badami Bagh Lari Adda and the vegetable market for the purpose.
Cleanliness efforts are being made in Azam Cloth Market, Moti Bazaar, Shah Alam Market, and Urdu Bazaar. The CEO LWMC has urged citizens to support the LWMC teams by keeping their surroundings clean and disposing of waste, responsibly.