Kathmandu, December 9

Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s ‘Clean the City’ campaign, which was launched on June 1, has started showing positive results with most of the roads in the city area looking neat and clean.

According to KMC, since the campaign was launched people have stopped dumping litter on the streets. Joint-Spokesperson at the KMC Nama Raj Dhakal said roads looked clean as people had stopped throwing household trash on the streets.

As part of the campaign, KMC Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya has instructed KMC staffers to collect household waste before sunrise. The mayor himself had participated in the road cleaning campaign.

Joint Spokesperson Dhakal said the campaign had proved to be effective in terms of waste management. “Now the roads look cleaner as KMC fines people found throwing litter on the streets. It has also been organising awareness campaigns,”  Dhakal told The Himalayan Times.

On the election day, KMC had appealed to the public to keep household waste for collection the following day.

“Earlier, if waste collection halted for a single day, garbage piles could be seen on the streets the next day. But things have changed since KMC launched the campaign,” said added.

KMC has also been sprinkling water on the roads to keep them dust-free. It has also been using an old broomer to clean the roads.

Likewise, KMC has also begun a campaign to maintain greenery in inner areas of the city. KMC had prioritised four major working areas — road repair, building code implementation, maintenance of greenery and garbage management.

KMC officials said road repair work would begin soon after field inspection. Roads not wider than eight metres come under the purview of KMC. The KMC has also prioritised enforcement of the building code. It said regular inspections would be carried out at construction sites to ensure that the building code is complied with.

As part of its greenery campaign, trees are being planted on both sides of the roads, traffic islands and river banks, among others, to maintain greenery in the city. KMC is also making efforts to construct a permanent landfill site and remove obstructions posed by the locals in waste disposal at the Okharpauwa landfill site. The Okharpauwa landfill site was constructed as a temporary solution to Kathmandu Valley’s waste management woes.