Negligence, mismanagement push Pakistan's sanitation system to the brink

Faisalabad [Pakistan], October 29 : The public sanitation network in Pakistan's Faisalabad has collapsed under years of administrative apathy and poor governance, leaving the city's streets and parks without functioning public toilets.

Of the 14 public toilet facilities established in 2014, only two remain operational today, forcing countless citizens to relieve themselves in open spaces, a grim reminder of the city's decaying civic infrastructure, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, the initiative was originally launched under the City District Government, led by then-DCO Naseem Sadiq, to address the worsening sanitation crisis.

The project had handed operational control to private contractors. However, the system began to fall apart after the Imran Khan-led administration scrapped the district government structure and reinstated the old magistracy model, effectively dismantling local oversight.

As civic supervision faded, these neglected public toilet sites became easy prey for vandals and thieves. Essential components, such as iron gates, pumps, meters, taps, and even roofing materials, were looted, leaving most facilities as hollow ruins.

Municipal Officer (Finance) Muhammad Awais Gondal stated that 12 of the toilets, including those assigned to the Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) for maintenance, were once assigned to the FWMC for maintenance.

However, the FWMC allegedly abandoned the project without explanation, leaving the Metropolitan Corporation (MC) helpless.

Only two toilets, Dhobi Ghat and Railway Road, remain under MC management. Gondal added that the MC is drafting a proposal to demolish the existing dilapidated structures and rebuild modern, sustainable facilities.

"The current infrastructure has exceeded its life span and is deteriorating each day," he said, as quoted by The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, FWMC spokesperson Mateeb Virk denied the MC's claim, insisting that "no formal handover ever occurred" and that public toilet maintenance falls outside the company's operational mandate.

Civil society activist Chaudhary Muzammal Waraich condemned the state of affairs, calling it "a civic failure of shocking proportions" in what was once celebrated as the "Manchester of Pakistan", as reported by The Express Tribune.

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