Mazar being spruced up ahead of Nawroz

 MAZAR-I-SHARIF (PAN): The Cinema and Theatre Association teamed up with the municipality department to launch a campaign on Tuesday to clean roads in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, ahead of new year celebrations.

Participants began the drive by removing waste dumped along roads passing near the Ghayasuddin High School east of the Hazrat Ali (RA) Shrine, said Anwar Nabil, a member of the association.

The drive is aimed to rope in residents to clear the city of garbage, shrubs along roads and close potholes. He expected thousands of people to throng the city for new solar year celebrations. They will find crowded sites neat and clean on their arrival in the city.

Nabil said their effort was confined to a portion of the city and if residents, shopkeepers and civil society groups extended their cooperation, they would take only one day to spruce up the entire city.

Another member of the association, Ahmadullah, said the campaign was being assisted by the municipality department proving water and equipment.

Residents expressed pleasure over the cleanliness effort, but lamented the municipality paid little attention to the increasing environmental pollution. Abdullah Jamalazada, a resident, said such campaigns had been patchy, urging the municipality to come up with an organised plan.

Municipality official Jauhar Attayee said the dive was an annual feature that was supposed to be joined by every citizen. He hoped the effort would get momentum and roads across the city would be cleaned ahead of the celebrations.

ma/mud