ISLAMABAD: A private firm on Saturday removed garbage from the sit-in site and sprayed the area, much to the relief of the protesters sitting at D-Chowk for the last two weeks.

Thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek activists had been complaining about the heaps of garbage and the foul smell in the area.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) was supposed to collect the garbage, but it failed to do.

Finally, a Lahore-based private sanitation company took the responsibility and removed the waste.

“We have volunteered so that the protesters are provided a healthy environment,” said Yasir Ali, the company’s supervisor.

When asked whether the company’s owner had any affiliation with the PTI or PAT, Mr Ali denied that he was associated with either party.

To a query, he said: “No doubt, some of our workers are wearing PTI’s badges, but that is their individual act.”

After the anti-littering campaign, D-Chowk gave a new look.

“I’m very happy as it was getting difficult for us to bear the stinking smell,” said Rehmat Khan, who came from Swabi to take part in the protest.

Around 35 professional workers of the company took part in the campaign.

“Today, we cleaned D-Chowk, tomorrow we will sweep the Constitution Avenue, where PAT workers were staging the sit-in,” said Jamil Akhtar Bhatti, an official of the sanitation company.

The Constitution Avenue, where thousands of PAT workers have camped since August 19, have lost its beauty, with garbage lying on the greenbelts, and giving out a stench.

At the moment, the protesters, who have a one-point agenda of “revolution”, are least concerned about their health.

“There is no doubt that it is becoming difficult for us to stay here, but we will not go back till our demands are not met,” said a PAT worker Mohammad Ilyas, who came from Sargodha.

Another protester, Rizwan Mughal, a resident of Rawalpindi, said: “We have tried to keep the area clean, but it is a difficult task as thousands of protesters have been living here for the last many days,” he said.

Mr Bhatti, the officer of the sanitation company, said the waste in the area was not only leading to air pollution but also spreading diseases among the participants of the sit-ins.

The sanitary workers of the private firms dumped garbage in various corners of the D-Chowk.

“We will dispose of this garbage at various dumping sites of the federal capital as soon as our van is allowed to enter the area to pick this pile of garbage,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 31, 2014