Solid Waste Management System for Gilgit-Baltistan!!
Sajid Ali Bagarduvi
With the exponential population growth in Gilgit and Skardu, two major settlements in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, many issues are emerging, demanding immediate attention from the authorities. I would like to divert the attention of the people and responsible authorities of Gilgit Baltistan towards an extremely rapidly growing issue of both the major cities, i.e. need for need for solid wastes management system in Gilgit Baltistan, using engineering approaches.
There are currently no, or very negligible, proper practices for managing solid wastes that generate everyday due to different human activities. According to a survey conducted by an NGO recently, 0.4kg/Person/Day, amounting to almost 70-80 tons/Day of solid wastes are generated in Gilgit city only. It is assumed that more quantities of solid waste is being generated in Skardu, being more populous.
The huge amount of wastes generated in these two cities is enough to destroy the natural ecosystem and environment of Gilgit- Baltistan, if not treated properly on time. All the Municipal solid wastes that generate daily are either dropped in a nearby wide-open places or thrown into the nearby water channel, or river, causing even more pollution, instead of reducing it. We are not only polluting our own natural environment, but also becoming a huge threat for aquatic life, polluting water by disposing our households, markets, hospitals and all other solid wastes into large Water bodies.
The problems will not reach crisis level, if timely diagnosed, analyzed and paid proper attentions to, in search of solutions. The solution is not easy. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every individual of Gilgit Baltistan to contribute their part in protecting the natural environment and beauty of the heavenly places of the region by sharing their views and expertise, and by highlighting public issues and suggesting their solutions. Also, the Local Government must take initiatives in this regards.
In view of the alarming situation, I, along with my university colleagues also hailing from Gilgit Baltistan, are going to do our “Final Year Project (FYP) of Civil Engineering”, on the same topic, i.e. “Solid Wastes Management Practices in Gilgit Baltistan”, in order to make our contribution for making a better Solid Wastes Management System for the region.
For this purpose, you may share your ideas, suggestions, directions and guidelines. You may put your ideas and pictorial evidence of current solid wastes practices of your particular region at the email address given below in order to make our project successful and more suitable for implementation. Collectively we can maintain our environment in its natural form, pure and clean.
The contributor is a 4th year Engineering student at NED, Karachi. He belongs to Skardu, Baltistan. Email: sajidalineduet@gmail.com
