GARBAGE piled up for more than three weeks in a busy industrial area in northern Bahrain was cleared yesterday following the GDN’s intervention.
The dump, which people feared was a fire hazard, was cleared by the Northern Municipality within two hours of being alerted, with support from area councillor Zaina Jassim.
The industrial area which connects many such roads is thickly populated with garages, painting workshops, electrical shops, offices, cafeterias and bakeries.
“Garbage piling up has been a regular menace and nobody seems to bother,” an Indian who has his office in the area told the GDN.
“We have seen waste piling up for weeks before it is cleared.
“This is inflammable waste, mostly paper and plastic and greasy stuff from the garages and workshops. It posed a serious threat as it could lead to a fire. Imagine someone throwing a cigarette stub and with the temperatures soaring, it could be a disaster.
“A fire in this location would affect the entire area which is crowded with people.
“With Salmabad now almost full, many garages and workshops have come up here with eateries also opening up.
“It is a busy area and this place needs to be cleaned regularly; we hope the authorities will listen to our plea.”
A woman who works in an office in the area said that her repeated attempts to call the municipalities hotline (1798000) to report the matter went unattended.
“This waste had been here for almost three weeks,” she said, adding that there has always been garbage lying around the site.
“This time it was mostly plastic and paper; earlier it was agricultural waste, such as tree trunks, lying around for almost two weeks.”
The GDN reported last year that thousands of municipal violations have been registered by inspectors since the 2019 Cleanliness Law was introduced in October 2019, with Northern Municipal councillors demanding its implementation “in all seriousness”.
Another tenant, who also failed in reaching the municipality, pointed out that the businesses in the area were faithfully paying all the fees stipulated for various services.
“It is unacceptable that someone is not doing the job they are being paid for.”
Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf last year revealed that of the 13,517 littering, dumping and cleanliness violations recorded, the Capital Governorate had the lion’s share with 6,063, followed by 2,825 in Muharraq, 2,548 in Northern and 2,081 in Southern.
These violations involved scrap and for-sale vehicles, agricultural waste, dumping garbage and water spills, and wrongful disposal of construction material, among others.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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