Health fears spark protest against dumping site

RAWALPINDI: Residents and traders have started a hunger strike against a newly set up Suthra Punjab garbage collection and dumping site at the Sunday Bazaar near Committee Chowk, saying the facility is creating serious health and environmental problems in a densely populated part of the city.

The protest has emerged over the location of the waste depot in the middle of a busy residential and commercial area. According to residents, garbage from different parts of the city has been brought to the site for the past week without proper environmental protections or waste-handling arrangements. They say the accumulation of waste has led to foul smell, unsanitary conditions, and an increase in flies and mosquitoes, raising fears of pollution and disease.

People taking part in the protest said the situation has disrupted routine life in the locality and affected both businesses and property values. Local residents and traders, including Faisal Ali, Sharif Qureshi and Hafiz Sajid Khan, said the smell becomes especially intense during hot weather, rainfall and at night. They said children were finding it difficult to study, families could no longer comfortably use open areas of their homes, and visitors had stopped coming to the neighbourhood because of the stench.

Social worker and community leader Nighat Mirza said setting up a garbage depot in the middle of a populated neighbourhood amounted to a violation of constitutional, legal and basic human rights. She called for the site to be shifted immediately, action against those responsible for establishing it, and relief measures for people living and working nearby. She also said the issue had been taken to court.

The protesters also challenged senior officials, including the commissioner, to spend even half an hour near the dumping site without wearing masks, underscoring their demand for urgent intervention.