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PU trashing our homes, say Mustafa Town residents
LAHORE, Aug 6: The Punjab University (PU) New Campus authorities are dumping garbage
near Ahmad Yar Block of Mustafa Town, a nearby residential colony, residents
said on Sunday.
The colony consisted of about 5,000 residents
and was located 100 meters away from the university's landfill. Residents said
they were contracting diseases because of the garbage and the situation worsened
when the authorities burnt the garbage.
"It becomes terrible when the
wind blows towards houses," said Imran Gul, a resident. "Fresh air is a dream
now and my children have developed asthma because of this," he added. He said
the authorities were dumping three trolleys of garbage a day in the
site.
Sabeena Jalal, another resident, said her whole family was
suffering from breathing problems. "It becomes intolerable when the authorities
burn the garbage and wind blows towards our houses," she added. Shahid Mushtaq,
another resident, said his house was 300 meters away from the garbage heaps.
"During rains, the whole area is filled with mud and I cannot go to the mosque
for prayers," he said.
Azmatullah Khokar, former Mustafa Town nazim,
said the water of the area had become muddy because of the garbage. He said that
despite his requests to the PU authorities to stop disposing the garbage near
the colony, they did not stop. He alleged that PU threatened to bury the colony
under the garbage. He said the people would start protests if the practice
continued.
PU Resident Officer Zahid Karim said that the
university was dumping garbage in its premises. He said he would discuss the
problem with other officials and search for an alternative landfill. He said the
municipal authorities were not willing to collect extra garbage of the
university.
Dr Tufail Ahmed Siddiqui, district officer of the Solid Waste
Management Department, said the PU had its own set up of employees and vehicles
for waste disposal. He said the PU administration had never requested his
department for this purpose. If university authorities asked, he said, his
department would resolve PU's garbage problems. Daily times
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