KARACHI: The assignment for survey and data collection to ascertain the volume of industrial, private and public sector hospitals’ waste in Karachi has been awarded to two private firms. This is the first instance in the history of the country that such a survey would be conducted . Talking to Daily Times, Dr Attar Das Sajnani, Managing Director Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) revealed that the survey responsibility of Sindh Industrial Trading Estate, Federal B Area Industrial Zone, Landhi and Korangi industrial estates and North Karachi Industrial Zone have been handed over to Ice-Pak, a Lahore based-Company with the condition that foreign expertise should be inducted in the cadre of the survey team. Similarly, the survey job of Nooriaabad Industrial Estate has also been awarded to Usmani and Company with the same condition of foreign expertise, Sajnani informed. There is a rare practice in developed and most of the under developing countries that residential areas are to be a part of the industrial zones. In order to acquire the estimate the accumulation of garbage of residential areas, a separate survey would be carried out as well, he revealed. This decision has been taken at a SSWMB meeting by a newly formed 9-member Consultant Selection Committee. The estimated cost of all the exercise would come to around Rs 85.6 million and these survey companies have been given 3 to 4 months to complete their respective jobs. All industrial waste areas of Karachi will be dived into six zones and the contract cost would be Rs. 34 million . For Nooriabad Industrial study the contracart has been awarded to Osmani and co for Rs.19.9 million and Karachi basis medical waste contract Rs 31.7 million. He informed that Ice Pak is the only private entity, possessing the expertise in data collection of hospital waste among four firms that had floated bid. Moreover, Sajnani explained that current estimations of garbage collection from residential and commercial areas has been tentative and in this respect SSWMB under a proposed plan has decided to monitor the dumping of the residential and commercial waste at two landfill sites to a certain period on day-to-day and monthly dumping figures. In this connection, SSWMB is installing erection, testing and commission pit mounting type electronic devices at landfill sites. “In his way we would be able to come to the decimal note for getting near to the accurate volume of collected waste”, he revealed. In addition, Ice-Pak has also been asked to start survey and data collection service to ascertain the volume of waste dumping, expenditures on transportation, required manpower and vehicles to be involved at a newly under construction landfill site at Dhabeji. He informed that a new international tender inquiry has been floated for awarding similar jobs for Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Benazirabad since no company has offered its services for collection of waste in early-floated tender, he added. On increasing number of cases of skin, sinus and chest problems and chickengunia in Karachi, Sajnani opined that one of the common practices is dumping of all types of garbage at open sites in city especially hospital waste, that is a constant threat to the health of public in particular.