Kathmandu, August 26

Locals of Aathmile have decided to allow transportation of garbage to Okharpauwa landfill site following an agreement with the authorities concerned.

Locals of the area had been obstructing garbage trucks of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, demanding repair of Aathmile stretch of the Balaju-Kakani-Trishuli road. Locals decided to lift the obstruction following a meeting with officials of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Department of Roads, transport entrepreneurs, police and representatives of political parties.

Chief of Environment Management Division of KMC Rabin Man Shrestha, who also participated in the meeting, informed that locals agreed to lift the obstruction after DoR expressed commitment to repair the road.

“After the Department of Roads agreed to repair the road and transport entrepreneurs expressed commitment to operate three buses locally, residents of the area agreed to lift obstruction,” Shrestha told THT. Apart from that a general understanding has been reached to control waste leakage from garbage trucks.

Locals of Nuwakot had obstructed movement of KMC garbage trucks at Aathmile since Thursday evening. This was the second obstruction from locals this month.

Locals of Okharpauwa had also obstructed garbage disposal at the landfill site earlier this month demanding proper waste management.

The government had built Okharpauwa landfill site for waste disposal for two years. It had planned to build another landfill site at Banchare Danda for the next 50 years. But the plan has yet to be implemented.

Earlier, KMC had reached an agreement with the locals to repair roads to the landfill site and build another landfill site at the earliest. KMC said although 20 municipalities disposed waste at Okhgarpauwa site, only the metropolis was being blamed for poor waste management.

A study by Alternative Energy Promotion Centre said KMC, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Kirtipur Municipality and Kalimati fruit and vegetable market alone produce 331 tonnes of waste daily.