Kathmandu, December 1

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started sprinkling water on roads to control dust pollution. According to KMC, it has prioritised cleaning roads considering the serious risk that dust pollution posed on public health.

Due to ongoing road expansion and other construction work being carried out in different places of the metropolis, air pollution in the city has reached alarming levels.

Chief at the Environmental Management Division of KMC Hari Bahadur Kunwar said for the first time water tankers were being used to wash roads from 9:00pm to 11:00pm. He said regular sweeping task began early morning.

“We started the move as people of the metropolis are facing health complications due to increasing dust pollution,” Kunbar said, adding, “We will continue sprinkling water on the roads until we make them dust-free.”

KMC officials said they had prioritised roads near the President’s Office, the prime minister’s official residence, Singhadurbar and Tribhuwan International Airport, among other areas.

Earlier, KMC had begun cleaning dusty roads in the city using its old broomer. It said it started cleaning the roads using the old machine as the tender process for importing new broomers was cancelled.

Joint Spokesperson at KMC Nama Raj Dhakal said since importing new broomer machines was likely to take more time, it had started using the old one that was procured during the 2014 SAARC Summit in 2014 held in Kathmandu. The broomer was imported at the cost of Rs 6 million.

Dhakal said KMC would continue using the old broomer until the new broomers arrive. The old broomer was used to clean the Sundhara-Bhadrakali stretch this morning. KMC said the old broomer couldn’t pull the dust from pits and potholes.