Larkana sanitation staff initiates door-to-door garbage collection at 6am

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and has established that it is true.

To arrive to this verdict, the iVerify Pakistan team investigated the claim with the relevant authorities and third parties in Larkana to confirm if the staff is working to ensure a clean and hygienic environment.

HOW IT STARTED

On January 16, 2024, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed his party workers and officials in a Larkana political gathering.

During his address, Bilawal praised the sanitation service delivery and staff in the city, saying that the waste management system was exemplary.

The relevant transcript from the 12:28-minute mark is reproduced below:

“I am very happy that in Larkana — it seems like a small thing but I am most pleased with it. I never thought that in my Larkana — it happens in big cities and I’ve seen this in Paris, London and the United States — that they (sanitation workers) come knock at your door at 6am and say: ‘Give us your rubbish’ and I am very happy with the cleaning in our city.

“I would want that we expand this project and along with our inner city, you have to remember to provide this facility to the rest of the areas around our constituency and the neighbouring constituencies.”

METHODOLOGY

The iVerify Pakistan team sought to verify the PPP chairman’s claim given the keen public interest in the upcoming February 8 polls and the propensity for political leaders to make substantial claims about their contributions to public welfare.

Investigating the claim, the iVerify Pakistan team reached out to Geo Fact Check who contacted Fahad Khichi, the complaints in-charge of Sindh Solid Waste Management Board’s (SSWMB) Larkana branch.

Khichi told the outlet: “The sanitation staff commences their waste collecting operations at 6am going door-to-door.”

He added that the city had a “very good sanitation system”.

The outlet also contacted Gul Sheikh, the deputy director of SSWMB Larkana, who said: “The garbage collection process involves home visits with operational hours from 6:30am to 2:30pm.”

He added that “in emergencies beyond this timeframe, an extra shift takes place, or cleanup is rescheduled for the other day.”

Sheikh said the garbage was disposed of at temporary dumping points.

“Our primary collection is of trash from homes. There won’t be any rubbish on the streets if we collect it from homes. Not a single rupee is taken from people for this.”

To corroborate the claims of the SSWMB officials, Geo Fact Check also contacted Larkana Samaji Ittehad President Sheikh Bashir Ahmad who acknowledged that the SSWMB was “doing very good work”.

“They collect garbage from homes and arrive maximum by 10am. Their work is going very well.”

A resident of Larkana’s Gajanpur neighbourhood responded in the affirmative when questioned if SSWMB personnel collected garbage from homes on a daily basis.

Another local narrated the same, saying that SSWMB staff knocked on doors in every street and neighbourhood, taking away the rubbish.

“SSWMB staff is doing good work. Pollution in Larkana has reduced quite an extent almost by half,” he said.

CONCLUSION

The iVerify Pakistan team has determined that Bilawal’s claim regarding the timing and performance of Larkana’s sanitation system is true as the relevant authorities and a third party also corroborated it.

Evidence and References