THE Water and Sanitation Services Company (WSSC) in Abbottabad has planned to establish a solid waste management facility at Dhamtour in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the local government department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The ADB is providing a loan of $17 million for land acquisition and construction of the facility. However, one solid waste management facility at Salhad is already under the provincial government, and it has been upgraded a number of times without any concrete outcome, causing trouble for the residents and polluting the environment of Abbottabad.

Now a similar mechanism is planned for Dhamtour, which is bound to follow the same pattern. Dhamtour is the oldest town of Abbottabad having a population of over 35,000. It was a town even before establishment of Abbottabad itself.

The area selected for the construction of the solid waste management is right next to the Havelian-Dhamtour bypass. It is estimated that around 500,000 to 700,000 vehicles will be passing through the area with tourists onboard on their way to the famed Galliyat. The solid waste management facility will severely affect eco-tourism in the area.

Also, a drinking water ravine flows next to the suggested treatment plant which will pollute the stream that is a source of water for Haripur district where farmers use it for irrigation purposes. Contaminated water will affect the vegetables and fruits that are transported to destinations across Pakistan.

Moreover, the suggested facility is right next to the under-construction COMSATS University which will be operational by 2025.

Converting the scenic Dhamtour into a garbage dump is seriously unfair. This will have unimaginable consequences for the environment and population in the form of health hazards.

The relevant environment protection laws say that the role of environment protection agency (EPA) is to preserve the environment, and to stop any project that might affect the population in terms of pollution.

The agency is responsible for ensuring the development of green zones and botanical gardens, and for the promotion of eco-tourism. What is it doing in this case?

The handling of dangerous substances, like methane and other gases emissions, is a tricky and technical affair, but the treatment plant project proposal does not have a single word about handling such emissions.

The suggested land for the project is porous and will affect the water table, polluting it and turning it into poison. The project has been planned on the basis of loan, and it will be paid back with the taxpayers’ money. Is it not fair for the taxpayers to have a say in the matter?

There is an urgent need to have an alternative to the current project that is away from inhabited areas.

Saqib Ali Khan
Dhamtour

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2021