DNCC waste management incapacitated

Waste disposal in metropolises has ever remained challenging not only for mega cities the world over but also in other smaller cities and towns. Dhaka City came out creditably in the task of clearing off the accumulated solid garbage in its wards, at kitchen markets and other busy commercial centres. To put their acts together, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) each had to develop a pool of vehicles. Some of those were financed by their own funds and the more advanced of the collecting vehicles they received as gifts from friendly countries. Now the DNCC is facing an uphill task in disposing of waste from Mirpur in particular.

Why? It is because 29 dump trucks and compactor trucks out of a total of 46 vehicles were set ablaze during the quota reform movement precipitating in widespread violence, arson, damage to and destruction of public property. Why the vehicles used for collection of waste from city areas were targeted for the mindless arson is certainly inexplicable. The arsonists are not supposed to have come from outside of Dhaka and also not quite unaware of what can happen if garbage is left uncollected in dumping spots in each locality. Piled up garbage emitting obnoxious stench was not an uncommon sight even a couple of decades ago. Carrying the stinking garbage in an overflowing open truck was also nauseating. There was a paradigm shift in the collection of city waste with the arrival of the modern waste collecting vehicles. Some areas of Mirpur has gone back to experience unpleasant encounter with waste similar to the time years ago. Although the DNCC mayor has expressed his intention of getting rid of the waste by Saturday, there is no guarantee of happening this. Saturday, in terms of waste disposal, is a long way off and by this time more waste will get accumulated to turn the situation hellish.

Sure enough, the arsonists went either insane or did it with an ulterior motive. Local protestors needed to think twice before committing themselves to this act of sabotage because they have to fall victim to their own indiscretion. Environmentally unsound with high degrees of pollution, Dhaka City cannot afford any further deterioration of its liveability. The inhabitants of this city cannot said to be highly caring about keeping its physical environment clean. Littering the streets with all kinds of rubbish including polythene seems to be the second nature with them. If delay in collecting debris of nauseous garbage happens, sanitation and hygiene will get further compromised.

The DNCC mayor says that his city corporation will take at least a year before it can replace the damaged and lost vehicles in order to attain the required waste management capacity. A year is a long way if the issue of waste disposal is taken into account. Perhaps rescheduling the garbage collection with shuffling vehicles between and among different zones and introducing double shifts for the task may be of some help. In a city where mosquitoes proliferate at will and dengue prevalence is nightmarish, garbage collection cannot wait long.