The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has expressed concern over the dumping of litter on the railway reserve land.
This comes as the council has dismally failed to collect garbage resulting in people dumping their refuse on open spaces some of which are reserved for the railway.
In a statement, NRZ appealed to the people to refrain from littering on the railway reserve land as they were becoming an eyesore.
“The National Railways of Zimbabwe notes with concern that some members of the public are dumping litter within the railway servitude creating an eyesore,” read the statement.
“The NRZ is appealing to members of the public to desist from dumping litter within the railway reserve land and place rubbish in designated dumping sites and litter bins to ensure we maintain a clean environment. The railway reserve land is a strip of land 45 metres from the centre of the railway line to either side of the track.
“The NRZ Loss Control and Security Department will work with local authorities and law enforcement agencies to arrest people who dump litter on its premises. People caught dumping rubbish within the railway reserve land will be liable to paying the gazetted fine for littering and will also be made to clean up the area they would have fouled.”
Recently, land barons once again invaded land reserved for the Harare-Chitungwiza railway line despite the demolition of illegal structures in 2020.
The barons were parcelling out land on the railway corridor and land reserved for social amenities, including a school and shopping mall.
Early this month, NRZ partnered with its stakeholders to close illegal mining shafts along the railway line as it intensified the fight against vandalism of its infrastructure.
Recently the company’s security officers in collaboration with Jumbo Mine security, witnessed the closure of 15 illegal mining shafts or tunnels dug within the railway reserve land.
NRZ said the majority of the illegal mining shafts were passing underneath the railway line and stressed the need to rehabilitate the affected areas as these threaten smooth railway operations.
Source Zimsituation
