KATHMANDU, AUGUST 17

Kathmandu Metropolitan City sent 186 garbage trucks to the landfill site at Bancharedanda under heavy police security in the face of threats from a mob of protesters.

More than 300 riot cops from Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Dhading districts had escorted the trucks ferrying waste. Following yesterday's clash with the locals, authorities had deputed dozens of personnel from the Armed Police Force around the landfill site on the border of Kakani Rural Municipality of Nuwakot and Dhunibeshi Municipality of Dhading to prevent any untoward incident.

Superintendent of Police Dinesh Raj Mainali from District Police Range, Kathmandu, and SP Ramesh Pandit from District Police Office, Nuwakot were also deployed to the landfill site to ensure the disposal of waste transported from Kathmandu without using excessive force on the protesters.

Around 150 paramilitary force led by Superintendent of APF Gyan Prasad Bhu-rtel Dhodari have been guarding the landfill site.

Police escorted garbage trucks from Sisdole, nearly three kilometres from Bancharedanda, due to protest from the locals elsewhere.

The mob also hurled stones at police from atop small hills, but cops didn't fire in the air or lob tear-gas shells today. However, a brief clash erupted be-tween the cops and the mob after the garbage trucks reached the destination. Police said Dipesh Karki was arrested for his attempt to inhibit the disposal of waste.

Man Bahadur Tamang, Ward No 1 Chair of Dhunibesi Municipality, claimed that locals were up in arms after the cops forcibly cleared the protesters off the road.

KMC Mayor Balen Shah said mobilising riot police to ferry the city waste to the landfill site was not a choice, but a compulsion. On implementation of the 10-point agreement inked between the KMC, Kakani Rural Municipality and Dhunibesi Municipality on June 9, the KMC had been gradually executing allocation of budget as pledged earlier. The government has already released Rs 432 mil-lion for road infrastructure, community building, temple, river training and plantation.

Separately, the KMC allocated Rs 30 million each to Kakani Rural Municipality and Dhunibesi Municipality for construction of playground and amusement park as per the demand of the locals.

Despite the tripartite agreement reached earlier for smooth transportation of garbage trucks, locals continue to come up with new demands.

Recently, they demanded that the government develop a buffer zone in the landfill site by acquiring their lands.

The KMC said decision on land acquisition could be reached on the basis of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

The mob has obstructed transportation of waste for 16 days in the past one month defying the agreement.

Meanwhile, chief district officers of Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Dhading today gathered in Kakani to hold discussion with stakeholders and resolve the waste management crisis. The meeting of Kathmandu CDO Govinda Prasad Rijal, Nuwakot CDO Narayan Prasad Risal, and Dhading CDO Krishna Prasad Lamsal with stakeholders dwelt on ending the deadlock over waste management amicably.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City CAO Loknath Poudyal, Chairperson of Kakani RM Suman Tamang, Mayor of Dhunibesi Municipality Balkrishna Acharya, and representatives of agitating locals also took part in the meeting.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 18, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.