Garbage crisis grips Akre’s Gunde Gondek village amid municipal oversight

AKRE — Residents of Gunde Gondek village, located approximately 10 kilometers from the center of Akre district, are facing a growing environmental and health crisis due to uncollected waste and debris, a problem they say has been ignored by local authorities and environmental services.

The village, home to about 200 households or roughly 1,700 people, has not seen any formal waste collection efforts for several weeks, leading to mounting piles of garbage and associated unpleasant odors. Villagers have voiced their concerns repeatedly, demanding action from the Akre municipality with little to no response.

“We have raised our voices repeatedly asking the Akre municipality to find a solution, but to no avail,” said Remezan Sherif, a resident of Gunde Gondek, highlighting the community’s plea for intervention.

In response to the growing discontent, Bland Reza Zubair, the mayor of Akre, told 964media that Gunde Gondek falls outside the scope of the municipality’s current waste management agreement. The contract with MRF, an environmental company tasked with waste collection in the district, does not include Gunde Gondek due to its geographical location.

“Our contract with MRF spans three years, of which a year and a half have already passed. We are looking forward to the contract renewal, during which we plan to expand the service areas to potentially include more villages like Gunde Gondek,” Zubair explained.

The mayor acknowledged the challenge of extending services to areas not covered in the existing contract but expressed a commitment to finding a solution in the future. Meanwhile, the residents of Gunde Gondek are left seeking immediate solutions to the escalating waste crisis that threatens their environment and well-being.