Officials of the two city corporations in Dhaka have yet to make any decision over establishing two landfills at Dhaka’s two corners for dumping city garbage.
At present the city corporations have two landfills at Matuail and Aminbazar while there was a plan to establish two more at two other corners of Dhaka.This year the citizens suffered for stench from wastes of sacrificial animals while the two city corporations failed to clear many parts of Dhaka even three days after Eid-ul-Azha.
‘The then undivided Dhaka City Corporation had a plan to set up two landfills — one at Tongi and the other opposite the Buriganga Bridge near Babubazar area,’ said a Dhaka South City Corporation official.
The plan was later proposed after the former city corporation had been divided into two entities on December 1, 2011.
These proposed landfills would stop carrying waste from one side to other sides over the capital and enhance the city’s cleanliness, the officer said.
The total amount of wastes generated in Dhaka is about 4,200 tonnes which is increasing gradually with the growing population, said officials.
Matuail landfill manager AHM Abdullah Harun said at present about 2,000 tonnes of wastes were disposed of at Matuail daily.
‘During this Eid we cleaned on average 18,000 to 20,000 tonnes of wastes in the four days since the Eid day eve,’ he said, adding that the conversancy workers became sick after doing such a labourious job.
‘If there was another landfill, it would be easier to clean the wastes,’ he added.
Dhaka North City Corporation waste management department executive engineer Abul Hasnat Mohammad Ashraful Alam has told New Age that no decision had so far been made to establish another landfill near the Buriganga bridge.
According to the north city corporation every day 1,000 to 1,500 tonnes of wastes were dumped at Aminbazar landfill.
DSCC chief waste management officer Captain SM Javed Iqbal, psc, BN, told New Age that he did not know about the plan to establish another landfill in his area.
-With New Age input
