NAROWAL: Narowal city has recently been swarmed byflies and mosquitoes because of poor sanitation arrangements and lack of garbage collection by the civic agencies, pestering the residents and causing different diseases.

According to concerned residents, the civic authorities have failed to ensure regular removal of solid waste from various city parts, especially the inner areas, resulting in accumulation garbage in the streets causing unbearable stench.

They lament that most of the sewers in these areas have been clogged with garbage due to lack of regular cleaning.

Piles of garbage can also be witnessed in empty plots in residential areas, becoming ideal breeding spaces for mosquitoes and flies, they add.

Local residents complain that the civic agencies concerned are turning a blind eye to removal of garbage from empty plots, which remains there for months, causing foul smell in the neighbourhoods.

Such empty plots could be witnessed in the residential areas, including Mohalla Ghousia, Rehmat Colony, Mohalla Miran Shah Hussain, Mohalla Muhammad Pura, Islam Pura and Mohalla Zakir Pura.

The teams of Suthra Punjab also seem to be unsuccessful in collecting garbage from these empty plots.

Local residents, Naeem and Arif Shahzad say that due to the change in weather and following recent rains, the foul smell emanating from these garbage heaps has become unbearable.

They say that they have repeatedly filed complaints with the officials concerned of the Municipal Committee, Suthra Punjab and the district administration, but to no avail.

They say that instead of getting the garbage removed, the officials refer the complainants to other departments.

Two women residents – Rabia Aslam and Kulsoom Bibi – say that their children are suffering from fever and stomach issues because of the poor sanitation in their localities, resulting in abundance of mosquitoes and flies.

When contacted, Narowal Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Managing Director Muhammad Kashif said that the responsibility of garbage collection lies with the Suthra Punjab officials.

Zia Gilani, Managing Director, Narowal chapter of Suthra Punjab, says that instructions have been given to the teams to collect garbage from vacant plots.

He says the agency is “planning” to improve the daily cleaning mechanism in the inner city streets and neighborhoods.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Tayyab Khan gave no response to the queries by this correspondents regarding the sanitation issue.

The city residents have demanded Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take notice of the situation and issue direction for its resolution.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2026