KARACHI, Nov 27 The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) along with the administrations of town and union councils has made elaborate arrangements for the immediate lifting and safe disposal of offal and other waste during Eid days.

The offal and waste of sacrificial animals to be collected from all areas, including those not falling in the CDGK limits, will be brought to the designated dumping sites, where pits and trenches have already been dug up to dispose them of hygienically.

Briefing newsmen about the arrangements at a dumping site in Mewa Shah, Site Town, on Friday, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal said that about 11,300 officers and workers associated with the CDGK and town/UC administrations along with 3,750 vehicles and machines had been dedicated for the operation, which would cost about Rs41 million.

He said that 42 trenches had been dug up at the designated dumping sites located in Site, North Nazimabad, New Karachi, Malir, Landhi, Gadap, Bin Qasim, Orangi, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Korangi towns for the safe disposal of the offal and waste.

He said the sacrificial waste to be lifted from the areas falling in the jurisdictions of cantonment boards or other civic agencies had also been allowed to be disposed of at the CDGK-designated sites, adding that clear instructions had been given to the officers and workers sacrificial animals' offal and waste should not be dumped and disposed of at the government's landfill sites at any cost.

Mr Kamal said that arrangements had also been made for the washing and cleaning of roads to clear thoroughfares of blood and litter. He guessed that the number of animals to be sacrificed on Eid days this year might go beyond one million, and said that under the CDGK sanitation plan, the offal and waste would be lifted and disposed of scientifically on a day-to-day basis.

In reply to a question, he said that in a situation where the Sindh government had stopped releasing the monthly funds of about Rs200,000 to each union council, it had become very difficult for the CDGK to motivate the lower tier administrations but the city government had undertaken the Herculean task in the best interest of citizens in order to avoid deterioration of environment.

The town and union council administrations would also hire about 3,200 vehicles and, along with the CDGK, bear other relevant expenses, the nazim said.

“It is not an easy task to ensure prompt lifting of such a huge number of offal and keep the city clean on Eidul Azha days but the CDGK had always been successful in meeting the challenge,” he said, adding that it was now the responsibility of citizens to help make the operation and cleanliness campaign successful.

Mr Kamal said that city government had made even better arrangements this year, and said he and nazims of all towns and UCs as well as senior CDGK officers would personally be overseeing some 10,000 workers during the three-day operation.

He informed the newsmen that a central control room at the CDGK headquarters could be approached on helpline “1339' for any complaint regarding the leftover offal. The relevant task force would immediately respond to the callers, he added.

He said that the fire brigade department would undertake the washing of roads and the staffers concerned would be there for a regular fragrant spray across the city.

Moreover, city wardens to be deployed in the city had been given special assignment to support the whole operation, said the nazim.

Earlier, Mr Kamal, EDO of Municipal Services Masood Alam (who is the focal person of the offal lifting operation) and a couple of town nazims inspected the pits and trenches dug up at the Mewa Shah dumping site, adjacent to the CDGK machinery pool. In all, 13 pits of 30x60 feet with a depth of 12 to 15 feet have been prepared at the site.

The city nazim observed that the careless and improper disposal and dumping of offal and animal waste in the open or at landfill sites in a large quantity had been a source of concern for the civil aviation service and air force operations. Besides, such practices had been contributing to growing air pollution. Crows, kites, vultures and other big birds hunting for their food would hover over the open dumping sites and some times posed hazards to flights, he said.