Japan has extended grant assistance worth $4.7 million to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) to clear the federal capital of mounting garbage affecting the city’s sanitary environment of the capital for which purpose garbage disposal vehicles would be procured from Japan.
Notes to this effect were signed and exchanged between Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan H.E. MATSUDA Kuninori and Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Dr Noor Ahmad.
Islamabad generates 550-600 tonnes of wastes per day, about 60 per cent of which is household garbage while growing population and growing urbanisation continue to add to the city’s problems. The MCI which is responsible for collecting garbage has failed to clean the city owing to a shortage and ageing deterioration of its machinery.
In this program, special vehicles such as the Garbage Compactor, the Skip Lifting Vehicle and the Sewer Jet Sucking machine will be provided to MCI.
This grant assistance will help to improve the sanitary environment and beautification of Islamabad. It is also expected that the index of solid waste management, which is one of the five indexes of the “Clean Green Pakistan”, advocated by the Imran Khan administration, will be improved.
Keeping the living environment clean is an essential element for people to be free from infectious diseases. Ambassador MATSUDA added, “In Japan, schoolchildren clean their classrooms by themselves every day. Each family separates recyclables from the rest. Local governments collect garbage at a fixed time on a fixed day. The accumulation of such small efforts of people and government helps to keep our living environment clean.”
“I firmly believe that the combination of personal hygiene including washing hands with clean water and improving public health leads to the prevention of infectious diseases.”
“Japan has put a priority on the sectors of Water & Sanitation, Health, Education and Disaster Prevention and will continue to support Pakistan in its effort to improve people’s livelihood.”
