‘They spread terrorism, it spreads filth’: Delhi mayor’s Pakistan dig over Okhla landfill

NEW DELHI: Delhi mayor and BJP leader Raja Iqbal Singh on Thursday visited the Okhla landfill site and drew a comparison between the massive garbage dump and Pakistan, saying both are harmful in different ways. “These landfill sites are like Pakistan. They spread terrorism and it spreads filth,” Singh said during his inspection. He added, “We had promised cleanliness to the people of Delhi. Soon this landfill will be removed. These landfills and their pungent smells have made life in adjacent residential areas a pain. Soon, this area will be beautified and a park will be built once the landfill is removed.” Singh was joined by Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and south Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri during the site visit. The leaders reiterated their commitment to clearing the legacy waste and transforming the area. Sirsa claimed that efforts were already underway under the leadership of Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader clean city vision. “Just as dinosaurs became extinct, these landfills are also disappearing from the country. This is PM Modi's vision; which CM Rekha Gupta is working on. By October 2025, we will remove 20 lakhs metric tonnes of legacy garbage from here. After that, this mountain will almost disappear,” Sirsa told ANI. He added that the larger aim is to rid Delhi of all landfill mounds within the next few years. “Our target is to eliminate all the mountains of garbage from Delhi by 2028. After that, these landfills will only remain in photos.” he said. Echoing the sentiment, MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said the Okhla landfill has been one of the biggest concerns for his constituency. “This was the biggest problem in my Lok Sabha constituency (South Delhi). I am happy to know that the Municipal Corporation officials told Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and the Delhi Mayor that before 2026, this landfill will be eliminated and this area will be developed as a green area. This is the dream of PM Modi and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta," Bidhuri said.