In the streets, alleys and squares… Waste disturbs the residents of Khartoum
Members of the armed military guard and individuals in civilian clothes standing around a tank (Reuters) Waste filled the streets in Omdurman, and the residents of some areas found no escape from collecting the waste through a popular effort and transporting it to the landfill. In the streets, alleys and squares… Garbage fills the streets of Khartoum
While the endless war continues between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, waste filled the streets in Omdurman, and residents of some areas found no escape from collecting waste through popular effort and transporting it to the waste dump in the far northwest of the city, according to the «Arab World News Agency». ».
Ahmed Al-Shami, who lives in Omdurman, said in an interview with the “Arab World News Agency”, that they resorted to collecting garbage after it accumulated in the alleys and streets of the neighborhood in which he lives for more than four months and became a breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes.
Al-Shami lives in the suburb of Al-Thawra, north of the city of Omdurman, which forms, along with Khartoum, the whole of Sudan, and Khartoum North, the Sudanese capital, on both sides of the Nile River.
He pointed out that they imposed symbolic sums on every house in the neighborhood in return for buying empty mobile phones, packing the waste inside them, and renting a truck to transport it to the landfill located northwest of Omdurman.
He added that this work was supposed to be done by the Cleaning Authority, but it did not do it, despite the fact that the area is relatively safe.
Since the outbreak of the armed conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April, garbage transport vehicles have been absent from the streets of the capital, and garbage has filled the main streets, alleys and public squares in the middle of neighborhoods in a state of insecurity.
For his part, the advisor to the director of the Khartoum State Cleaning Authority and head of the Sudanese Health Promotion Association, Musab Brier, says that cleaning work in the state stopped during the war, except for some local neighborhoods of Karari, north of Omdurman.
Brier revealed that all the intermediate stations and landfills were subject to looting and vandalism, “including the authority’s presidency in Khartoum.” He continued, “There are no work aids or insurance for workers in the shadow of the war.”
The advisor to the director of the Khartoum State Cleaning Authority accused the Rapid Support Forces, which control most of Khartoum state, of targeting the agency’s fleet of vehicles and looting some of them.
He pointed out that the Rapid Support Forces killed one of the directors of public administrations in the state in his home, in addition to arresting one of the machinery engineers in the Cleaning Authority, assaulting another engineer in his home, and looting the traffic vehicle designated for him.
Brier attributed the absence of vehicles and machinery for transporting waste from neighborhoods to the inability of the Hygiene Authority to secure workers, “which led to the suspension of work in six localities in Khartoum state out of a total of seven.”
He noted that there is a gradual return to work in the areas that were secured by the armed forces and police in Omdurman.
Brier confirmed that the Hygiene Authority in Khartoum State will expand its work according to the available “safety space”, in addition to the “abundance of aids and manpower.”
Visual pollution
Ibrahim Othman, a resident of the city of Omdurman, told the Arab World News Agency that garbage vehicles used to come and collect garbage from his neighborhood throughout the week.
Othman pointed out that garbage transport vehicles have been absent from his area since the beginning of the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which caused the accumulation of garbage in public squares.
He added that the sight of piles of rubbish in most public squares causes visual pollution.
He expressed his fear of the spread of diseases, especially with the advent of the fall season and the mixing of waste with rainwater.
Othman continued, saying, “Sometimes, we burn the garbage to prevent it from expanding, but it is useless… Even after the fire, the garbage remains in its place.”
Meanwhile, the advisor to the director of the Khartoum State Cleaning Authority confirmed that the waste is a suitable breeding ground for insects during the fall period.
Brier said that in the autumn season, disease vectors multiply heavily due to the abundance and spread of their breeding sites.
popular role
The advisor to the director of the Khartoum State Cleaning Authority confirmed that the official and popular authorities were previously controlling diseases and draining rainwater to reduce the spread of autumn diseases, such as fevers, diarrhea, eye diseases, and others.
Brier pointed to the difficulty of the official authorities playing the same role in the midst of the ongoing war.
He said, “All the burden remains on the popular role only, especially in light of the suspension of many health institutions and the difficulty of accessing the sites of health services and medicine that are now operating.”
For her part, Magda Fadlallah says that she is forced to throw garbage in one of the main streets near her house in the absence of the mechanisms of the Cleaning Authority.
The Sudanese housewife agrees with Othman that the expansion of garbage areas in neighborhoods may lead to the spread of epidemics among the population.
Magda appealed to both parties to the conflict to allow workers in the service fields related to cleaning and maintenance of water and electricity plants, and others, to perform their tasks “as required.”
2023-09-05 12:21:19
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