LWMC will clean Murree as a special project

Lahore ( Zulfiqar Ali) : Murree is a famous tourist resort of Pakistan. Its natural beauty is well known throughout the world. For Pakistanis going to Murree has become synonymous with escape from the vicissitudes of life.

Both in summers & winters a large number of tourists converge on Murree & Mall Road have become synonymous with fun & frolic.

Sadly due to the careless attitude of our countrymen towards cleanliness & waste disposal Murree’s Beauty has been badly marred by the presence of garbage heaps,  solid waste filled drains, & unpicked litter at major tourist hot spots & commercial as well as residential areas. Residents of Murree,

shopkeepers & visiting tourists have all contributed to this tale of destruction.

Keeping in view the importance of Murree as a tourist jewel of Pakistan,

Government of Punjab has prepared a special Murree Development Plan. Although newly formed Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWM

C) is officially responsible for the waste disposal in Murree but keeping in view the success of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) in

Lahore, it was assigned the task of providing technical & administrative assistance to RWMC in preparing an action plan for the cleanup of Murree. Infact RWMC wanted to emulate the

success of LWMC by following in its footsteps.

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif has taken personal interest in

launching a Murree Development Program. Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Shahbaz Sharif has also issued necessary instructions to implement this plan in a short time span. In March 2014 MNA Hamza Shahbaz presided

over a meeting to implement the Murree Development Plan. Managing Director LWMC, Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry gave a detailed briefing on the improvement of Solid Waste management in Murree. The plan presented by

LWMC was accepted and instructions were issued so that it can start the process of

immediate goal was to initiate the waste disposal process by sending a tcleanup in Murree as a role model for RWMC. The

eam of workers and supervisors from Lahore. It was all part of a process to impart technical knowledge and expertise to RWMC so that they can take over the cleanup of Muree in future.

LWMC has already started work on the project to implement a three tier program to clean Murree. It has three components, short term, medium term and long term. GM Operations LWMC Khalid Majeed is in Murree supervising a team of 150 sanitary workers, 15 supervisors, 4 zonal officers and 2

managers alongwith the technical support in the form relevant machinery to clean Murree. This LWMC tean has already undertaken cleanup & waste disposal operations at key spots in Murree like, Mall Road, Kashmir Point, Bus stand, Tehsil Road, Munshi Mohalla, Upper Jheeka Gali, etc. They have cleaned the open heaps and carried out de-silting of drains which were filled with garbage.

Short term plan is aimed at making Murree absolutely waste free from April 8 till May 10, 2014. Then onward as per mid-term plan, special teams will be constituted and deployed to identify areas lacking in standard state of cleanliness. Problems arising again will be urgently addressed and resolved. New machinery such as three compactors and one mechanical sweeper will be procured and added to SWM system to make it more efficient. The method of door to door waste collection using biodegradable bags and container lifting through compactors will be introduced. Current dumping site of Murree situated at Kuldana will be replaced as transfer station whereas waste will be dumped at Rawalpnidi’s dumping site named Locer.

Existing practice of openly dumping or burning hospital waste will be improved by introducing Incineration based burning of medical waste. Second term plan also includes a massive public awareness campaign at major resorts in the Murree engaging local community and students from Murree, Rawalpindi and Lahore. The objective of this awareness drive is to sensitize local residents especially traders, shopkeepers as well as tourists on adopting the habits of waste disposal using waste bins. This campaign also aims at motivating tourists to use car bags for litter while travelling. Local manufacturing companies, traders and important stakeholders will also be invited to play their part for this cleaning cause.

During Long term plan, a detailed waste characterization study will be done which later on will help in deciding technology such as composting, Biogas or incineration for the ultimate management of Murree’s waste. LWMC will provide full support for devising a comprehensive strategy and system in this regard under the direct supervision of MD Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary has paid various visits to ongoing operations in Murree .

Murree Development Plan by Government of Punjab would prove to be successful attempt to materialize the dream of cleaning Murree which will ultimately revive the natural scenic beauty of the resort attracting tourists from across the country and abroad.