Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Cleanliness Problems in Kabul City

Problems of residents of Kabul with smell and suffocation due to the increasing heap of garbage and filth in different parts of city is increasing day by day and this problem seems to get worse with the passage of time. There are many parts of city where smell due to garbage and stagnant water becomes intolerable. With these, not only the residents but also the passerby are much disturbed but it has also increased the rate of many diseases especially the viral ones which are getting easily transmitted.

The biggest problem in this regard is the lack of awareness in the public about healthy habits. People are in habit of throwing their waste materials anywhere on the road. Due to this habit, all the road side sewerage ditches have got filled with different waste materials and there is no flow of water in them. Due to this reason, the still water becomes stagnant and turns into a breeding place for flies, mosquitoes and numerous viral germs.

This problem has also given birth to another problem. Due to the blocked sewerage canals, the sewerage water and especially the rain water in winter cannot go out of different parts of the city. This stagnant water not only becomes the reason for a number of diseases but last winter, we witnessed that so many newly-constructed roads were badly damaged as water stayed on them for many days and this rain water also entered into a number of houses and caused great problem for the residents.

In some parts of the city like Khair Khana, the rain water made many houses to fell down but luckily, the residents had already vacated the houses having a look at the condition of the houses. In the same way, the rain water also made commuting very difficult for many days for the residents of the area.

People are also not in habit of using the given facilities properly. It is a common scene that people throw the waste material outside their houses or throw it outside the given waste baskets. At some places, these waste materials spread on the road and create problem for the pedestrians and the vehicle drivers.

On the other hand, facilities provided by the city municipality are not sufficient according to the huge population of city. The waste collection containers kept at different locations of the city are not enough to meet the requirements of the city while the collection of garbage from these points is not done on much regular basis (and it gets even worse in the backward parts of the city).

If some essential steps were not taken in this regard, conditions will get even worse. Those who come from foreign countries or cities criticize the capital city for its poor cleanliness and hygiene and if the same condition persisted, the name and reputation of city may further deteriorate.

In advanced countries of the world, the waste products of city have become a good source of revenue and with this revenue, all the expenses to keep the cities clean are comprehensively met. Government may start work on these lines and there can be many international business organizations willing to invest in this work. There were reports that a number of Chinese companies were interested in making investments in this regard but extremely difficult procedures in offices have not made their efforts successful. At the same time, the indifference by concerned government ministries is really disappointing.

A very successful experiment has been done in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif where city government has made it obligatory to all the shopkeepers and business owners to keep their surroundings clean and make spending in this regard. Our city government in Kabul can also follow this example and make it obligatory for all the shopkeepers and large business firms to buy and keep trash cans in front of their shops and businesses.

As part of arousing awareness in public, a campaign can be initiated on different levels like schools and universities where students should be given trainings about the importance of using dustbins and properly dumping their waste materials. Similarly, the print and electronic media can be used for the purpose. The television channel of the ministry of education can be used for the purpose. This channel has wide viewership in our youngsters and students and so a properly planned program on the channel would help increase the public awareness regarding cleanliness.

But most importantly, as members of civilized society, we need to take initiative and every educated and responsible member of the society should act more responsibly in this regard. Having a look at our example, we can hope that our children will also be able to follow our footprints.

Arousing awareness in public about cleanliness can also play vital role in this regard. But as a further advance step, punishments and fines can be introduced so that people should be more careful in this regard. There can be mass training programs on different mediums about habits to generate less and less waste materials and show carefulness in this regard. Such concrete steps can bring a permanent and sustainable end to this problem.