Islamabad, May 5 (IANS) Sanitation conditions in several parts of Pakistan’s Karachi continue to remain poor as foul smells from animal offal and sacrificial waste linger even after more than a week following Eidul Azha, local media reported on Friday.
Animal remains are still lying at garbage collection points and open spaces in some of the areas of Karachi. At many places of Karachi, waste has been removed, however, authorities have not properly cleaned the sites or applied adequate quantities of lime to neutralise the smell, causing inconvenience for residents, Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported.
People in Karachi have complained that offal was removed from several places after a considerable delay while animal remains are still lying in the open. They said that they are not able to breathe as the smell has permeated large parts of the city.
People living in several areas like District Central, West, East, South and Korangi complained of foul odour from decomposing sacrificial waste. Animal remains and other waste lying on road in several places of Karachi pose potential public health risks apart from contributing to the foul odour. People living and working in the areas have complained of headaches, nausea and general unease linked to the foul smell, Dawn reported.
People living around Numaish have said that locations from which waste had been removed has not been cleaned properly, causing a persistent foul smell. A resident of Orangi Town said that smell had started impacting everyday life and breathing comfortably inside the city had become increasingly difficult.
Speaking to Dawn, he said, “Forget about stepping outside to enjoy fresh air. Even sitting at the dining table inside the house has become difficult. Last night, when I started eating dinner, I thought the curry had gone bad because of the smell. When I mentioned it to my sister and other family members, they told me the smell wasn’t coming from the food. It was coming from outside. There are three garbage dumping points within about 500 metres of our house, and the stench from them continues day and night.”
The situation has been worse in Pir Colony, where the dumping point established by the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) for sacrificial animals is present on the main road. People have also dumped routine household waste at the site, Pakistan’s another daily The Express Tribune reported.
According to the residents, SSWMB staff remained absent for the first two days of Eid, resulting in animal remains and garbage lying throughout the area. Some cleaning was conducted on the third day of Eid as the waste collection vehicles arrived. However, the daily garbage of households has not been removed, resulting in garbage lying at several places, The Express Tribune reported.
Residents in Soldier Bazaar and Garden stated that waste collection employees came only during the first two days of Eid and then disappeared, resulting in large piles of garbage lying in both areas.
–IANS
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