DERA GHAZI KHAN: Sanitary workers of Suthra Punjab in Kot Chhutta tehsil, Dera Ghazi Khan, staged a protest against the non-provision of salaries for the last two months.

The contractor (private company Daewoo) of the Waste Management Company has failed to maintain cleanliness under the ‘Suthra Punjab’ initiative, leaving the programme in disarray. The sanitation conditions in the area have worsened significantly, causing concern among residents.

Adding to the crisis, the sanitation workers have not received their salaries for the past two months. The delay in payments has pushed many poor sanitary workers into financial distress, with their households struggling to make ends meet.

The affected employees staged a protest demanding the provision of salaries and have appealed to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take urgent notice of the situation and ensure immediate resolution of their grievances.

In response to the growing concerns, talking to Dawn, MPA Mehmood Qadir Khan Leghari urged Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif to personally intervene.

“When billions of rupees are being spent and government resources are in use, why is the public still suffering? Why are contractors being paid despite poor performance?” he questioned. He also highlighted the absence of enforcement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in contractual agreements.

When this correspondent contacted Waste Management Company Chief Executive Officer Rana Shahid, he declined to extend his comments.

However, despite the visit of Federal Minister for Local Government and Community Development Zeeshan Rafique, in which he had taken notice of complaints from the entire Dera Ghazi Khan division against the poor performance of the contractor of the Suthra Punjab project, he had warned the private contractor company about the cancellation of the contract if the prevailing situation was not improved significantly.

On the other side of the issue, despite an annual expenditure of Rs20 billion under the Clean Punjab Programme in Dera Ghazi Khan division, the initiative has become a cause of public distress rather than relief. In many rural areas, instead of disposing of waste at designated dumping sites, garbage is being dumped in open fields. Strong winds are scattering the waste into nearby crops, further aggravating the situation.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2025