Air pollution has been at dangerous levels in Kabul for years, and an initiative to clean the air and rid the city of garbage has not made the slightest dent.
Last year, Abdullah Habibzai, acting mayor and head of Kabul Municipality, unveiled a 20-year plan promising it would “put a full stop” to pollution.
But respiratory diseases continue to claim lives. Rasould Mohammad Oryakhilis, a resident of Paghman district, Kabul province who now lives in Mirwais Maidan says he is keeping his children at home lest they fall sick like his neighbours’ children.
“We don’t let the children go out of the house even once a week. Most of our neighbours’ children who go out are sick. The streets are strewn with dirt and as the weather warms up the stink is terrible even inside the house,” he says.
Hamdullah Paktin, a neighbour of Oryakhil, says his son and daughter are both sick with flue and diarrhoea for a month. But he says he can’t bear to keep his children indoors. “We feel sad if we imprison them at home,” he says speaking also for his wife. “I have taken them to many doctors. Every doctor has told me they should be kept away from the polluted air, unclean water and unclean food. The latter two we can take care of but how are we to clean the air they breathe?” he asks.
Adulterated fuel
Meanwhile, Ghulam Husain Pacha, a resident of Qargha Kabul, accuses the government of not paying attention to the quality of vehicular fuel sold in the country. “Most of the air pollution is due to smoke from vehicles in the city. Obviously fuel importers bribe customs offices at the border,” he says.
Akram Zazai who lives in Karta Parwan does not expect either air pollution or garbage collection to improve whatever the government may say. “We hear only words from the government saying it would clean up by 2020. I think they do this just to get projects. Thereafter there is no implementation. Had there been implementation we should have seen at least 5 percent improvement in one year. However, the filth is increasing day by day in the city and the city is enveloped in smoke because of vehicular pollution.”
Ahmad Fareed Qayumi who has been studying air pollution says tens of thousands of people die from chest-related ailments. The situation in the cities is very serious.
With factories spewing pollutants into the air, vehicles adding to the impurities, tens of thousands of wood and coal fires lit for cooking and heating in winter, and the un-asphalted roads (30 percent of roads are mere dirt tracks), air quality has no chance of improving on its own.
Kazem Humayoon, the head of planning at the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) told the press that NEPA was trying to clean the air but needed help from the public to achieve the goal. “Ninety percent of people in Kabul use coal fires, generators, poor quality oil and burn plastic to heat their homes in the winter. The effect of the noxious smoke persists in spring and summer. There is also no attempt to keep the surroundings clean with people throwing garbage wherever they want,” he told reporters.
Starved of funds
His head in NEPA, Mustafa Zaher, says the government does not give them enough money to protect the environment. He urges “investors” to invest. “Until there is big investment, it is difficult to improve air pollution. Even the government will fail,” he says.
But people blame the government for not ensuring the city is clean. There is heaps of uncleared garbage in Kabul’s markets.
Mohammad Esmail, a shopkeeper selling flour in Campany bazaar, says the government charges high taxes but does nothing to alleviate people’s problems. “The filth on the road in Campany is not acceptable anymore. There is such a stink of garbage but shopkeepers have to do business and have to be in their shops. Fifteen years ago we did not see heaps of filth,” he says.
Pollution in the air from dust, vehicles and smoke and also the general lack of hygiene is the cause of many sicknesses in Kabul. Dr. Abdul Rahim Helal at the Amarkhil private hospital recommends people particularly children must wear masks to protect them against air pollution.
Adeel Khader, representative of UNICEF, the children’s UN agency, points to the lack of toilets as a major reason for the spread of water-borne diseases. He says this year UNICEF is working with the government to build toilets.
Nasirahmad Durani, minister of rural rehabilitation and development, confirms a fifth of the population defecate in the open. He says by 2025 the government is planning that all homes will have toilets. The government has conducted a survey to see how many households are without toilets.
Meanwhile, Khuja Qamarudin Sidiqi, an advisor in the Ministry of Public Health, warns that cancer, respiratory disease, heart ailments and psychological diseases can be caused by air pollution. Minister of Public Health Dr. Ferozudin Feroz confirms air pollution is affecting people’s health.
