KATHMANDU, AUGUST 12

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah had made tall promises while campaigning during mayoral polls, but he has not been able to do much to fulfil his key poll promise: clear heaps of garbage that dot streets of Kathmandu metropolis.

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Just after his victory in the mayoral election, Shah had visited garbage dumping site in Sisdol and promised not to give any interview to any media or celebrate his win with garlands before solving the garbage management issue. It has already been more than 70 days since he was elected mayor, but garbage disposal problem remains unaddressed.

A resident of Koteshwor said he had high hopes from Mayor Shah as he had shown commitment to the cause, but all his efforts at managing city's waste have come a cropper so far.

A group of college students said KMC residents were already facing noise pollution, water pollution, and air pollution. Heaps of garbage dotting the streets of valley, the stink emanating from these, and the threat of diseases have added to their woes.

The Department of Roads, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Urban Development are not shouldering responsibility to keep the city clean, said Sunil Lamsal, member of the KMC Secretariat.

Unless the Infrastructure Development Committee, the Department of Roads, and concerned ministries accelerate road expansion near the dumping sites, garbage disposal will remain unresolved, especially during the rainy season, he added.

Due to the poor condition of approach roads, trucks ferrying garbage from the city to dumping sites take three hours to reach there during rainy season.

Usually, a truck takes only 45 minutes to dump garbage at dumping sites, said Lamsal. This means that more than half the garbage remains on the streets of Kathmandu valley every day.

University student Dipak Bohara said KMC mayor alone would not be able to resolve the waste disposal issue. Cooperation of all concerned agencies is necessary, he said.

Mayor Balen Shah's Personal Assistant Bhoopa Deva Shah said, 'When the authorities concerned improve the condition of approach road to the dumping sites, locals of Sisdol and KMC would resolve their differences once and for all.'

A version of this article appears in the print on August 13, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.