Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is landing in serious trouble with its waste management as the only garbage dumping ground of the corporation at Matuail is going to be filled up by next year.
Officials and experts concerned fear big trouble with disposal of the growing volume of solid waste in the densely-populated city, if the DSCC fails to arrange fresh land for the purpose.
They further apprehend that the unhygienic atmosphere because of scattered disposal of garbage could cause various health complications for the city dwellers in the coming days.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) in a study a decade ago predicted that capacity of the Matuail dumping ground on 100 acres of land would be used up by 2016, if the authority did not take necessary measures to convert the waste into resources.
When contacted, Assistant Engineer of DSCC's Waste Management Unit Abdullah Harun admitted the fact saying that they initiated a move to acquire more land besides the dumping station to cope with the growing pressure of solid waste.
At the same time, various kinds of projects for converting waste into resources like power and RDF (refused derived fuel) had already been submitted by different companies from countries like the USA, Korea, the UK, Malaysia and Germany, he said.
"If we can reach an agreement on those projects, it will be a major breakthrough for the cleanliness campaign in the overpopulated capital," he added.
Seeking anonymity, another official of the unit said they had been struggling to deal with the growing volume of solid waste caused by the rapid expansion of Dhaka coupled with the population pressure.
"But unfortunately, our capacity remained the same as it was nearly a decade ago. We urgently need more land and other logistics to contribute largely to making the capital clean and liveable," he said.
The cleaners cannot collect solid garbage for disposal from some of the areas for space shortage, he said adding that 2,000-2,300 tonnes of solid waste were being created on an average every day.
"The city will turn into a capital of solid waste, unless we can find a way out immediately," he said. The city corporation took many measures in the past like solid waste-based power generation plant but achieved no significant progress to mention.
After visiting several areas of the capital, stockpiled solid waste was found lying haphazardly at Paribagh, Azimpur, Eskaton, Moghbazar, Malibagh, Farmgate, Taltola in Agargaon, Mirpur-10, Mirpur-12 Bus Stand, Mirpur-1, Mirpur-6, Bakshibazar, Shewrapara, beside Shahbagh Police Station, Nilkhet and New Market Gate No-1.
When contacted, DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon said he instructed all the officials concerned to make Dhaka clean as cleanliness was one of the top pledges he made during his electoral campaign.
He said the city corporation took a move to extend the capacity of the Matuail dumping spot through acquisition of more land in the area and at the same time several good projects for converting waste into power and RDF were also under the DSCC's consideration.
The newly-elected mayor said the DSCC also planned to distribute a special bag to each household for keeping garbage and their employees concerned would take those for dumping after a certain time.
The scenario was almost the same at Aminbazar Dumping Station under Dhaka North City Corporation, the capacity of which would also run out in 2017, in accordance with the Jica study.
Seeking anonymity, a DSCC senior official said around 1,800 tonnes of solid waste were remaining uncollected every day due to poor monitoring and logistic support and negligence of the field-level corporation workers.
According to him, some 2,500 tonnes of household garbage were being generated in the DNCC areas while 2,300 tonnes in DSCC areas daily.
"But the city corporations only manage to collect daily around 1,600 tonnes of waste from DNCC and 1,400 tonnes from DSCC," he said.
Piles of uncollected waste being dumped into the rivers and low-lying areas or left on the roadsides, are not only blocking the city's drainage system but also creating an unhealthy and stinking environment.
jubairfe1980@gmail.com
