Valley
KMC to construct ‘new garbage site soon’
Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Joint Spokesperson Nawaraj Dhakal has said “construction of a landfill site would start soon in co-ordination with the central government”.Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Joint Spokesperson Nawaraj Dhakal has said “construction of a landfill site would start soon in co-ordination with the central government”.
The spokeperson’s statement gives hope of some respite to Kathmandu Valley residents from the awful stink of garbage piles.
A few days back, cleaners removed mounds of garbage, strewn all over city roads, and rotting for more than a month. The acute problem of waste disposal is likely to recur in the next three months if the authority does not decide on an alternative to the existing dumping site.
The valley’s roads are at risk of stinking again due to the accumulating garbage piles.
The problem of garbage management is acute the valley. The authorities have to find a long-term solution quickly. The valley throws out 1,000 metric tonnes of waste daily. Kathmandu Metropolis throws 500 metric tonnes of junk. Sisdole landfill site receives around 75 percent of waste collected from the Kathmandu.
Waste Management Technical Assistance Center’s Executive Director Bishwamani Gyawali said it would take three years to ready Bancharedanda, the proposed new landfill site for garbage disposal, two kilometres away from the existing landslide site in Nuwakot.
A temporary landfill site is required until Bancharedanda site is ready. Sisdole site is full beyond its capacity. The site was constructed in 2062 B.S. with the capacity to deposit garbage only for two years since its construction. The site received upgrades four times to increase its capacity.
It is four months since the preliminary agreement with a private developer to implement integrated garbage management in the Kathmandu Valley. The final agreement is pending.
As the constitution has empowered local levels, it is up to Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage garbage, said Gyawali. “The KMC should initiate ways from now to manage a new dumping ground. Otherwise bigger problems would surface,” he warned.
KMC officials have earlier deflected the responsibility on the federal government. Managing valley’s waste is federal government’s responsibility. It has to build a garbage-dumping site at Bancharedanda as a permanent solution, they said.