Putting an end to the habit of littering is jihad, says District South’s DC

District South Deputy Commissioner Salahuddin Ahmed has said that ending the habit of littering is jihad and the people should become warriors against garbage in the city.

Speaking to Geo News, he said residents who want to become part of their cleaning campaign should register at their website www.dcsouthkarachi.com. He said that it’s not less than jihad to get rid of garbage thrown in streets. “If people continue to throw garbage in streets and we continue to clean it, the problem will never be resolved,” Ahmed said and added that every citizen had to be a warrior against the garbage in Karachi. Even animals in the jungle keep their forest clean, and if the government or any institute wants to work for the betterment of the city, it should be appreciated, he said.

Ahmed asked if anyone could give a guarantee that the drains would remain clean after the government started cleaning the nullahs of the city today. The purpose of the Blue Jacket Campaign, according to the deputy commissioner, is to stop people from throwing garbage in the streets.

He said there would be a team of three to four members responsible for a few streets. The team members would make sure that no one from those streets threw garbage on roads but only at designated dumping points.

In their Blue Jacket Campaign, he said, there was no limit of age. After registration on their website, the jacket will be delivered at their homes. Ahmed said that in other countries, not only is there a fine on throwing garbage in streets, but people there themselves do no throw garbage. “We need to have similar awareness in our people,” he said.

As for Boat Basin, he said, they want to convert it into a trash-free zone. This street, according to the deputy commissioner, will be the market of the Blue Jacket Campaign. Free WiFi will also be provided in this model market, and gradually, the Defence market and Burnes Road will also be turned into similar markets.

More than 70 presidents of different All Tajir Alliances, he said, are with him. More than 600 volunteers are already registered with him, jackets have been dispatched to 100 of them. He held out the assurance that at least 300 bins would be installed in District South and they would make sure that those bins were not placed in between roads or footpaths.

The new thing about the Blue Jacket campaign, according to Ahmed, is that the Union Council sectors will also lead it. In order to lift garbage from every nook and cranny, there will be a need for manual and mechanical sweepers. He said that no campaign can be successful without public support. Per person generation of garbage, according to him, is 600 tons. To clean an area, it costs the government around 300 to 400 crores. For cleaning, he said, there’s need for 2,350 sweepers.

On a question regarding plastic bags, he said that its usage is part of our habit. Even if members of the public buy eggs or bread, they seek plastic bags. These bags, he said, later destroy our sewerage system. As for the garbage and hospital waste at Sea View, the deputy commissioner, said the Sindh government had notified him as inquiry officer. He said the inquiry is underway but apparently it seems that it is laboratory waste which has washed ashore.

Luckily, he said, they have got barcodes on the waste and with the help of the National Database and Registration Authority, they will be able to achieve more information in four to five days. As for now, he said, it seems a contractor might have thrown this waste into the sea.

He said the sea is throwing garbage outside in Karachi whereas picnickers throw garbage inside it. The Sindh government is thinking of imposing a fine on throwing garbage. Ahmed said the environment minister is also onboard and with the minister’s consent they will make their work part of the curriculum.

Responding to a question, he said the people of Lahore have become much more aware than the people of Karachi. “They don’t throw garbage, they don’t pluck flowers,” he said. The garbage and sewage, according to him, are the two main issues of the city.

As for kiosks and carts on roads, he said that people earn through that, saying they are finding alternatives for them in the city.