KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Metropolitan City was unable to collect garbage for the fourth consecutive day today following the obstruction by a group of locals of Okharpauwa, demanding a landfill site meeting international standards.

The meeting scheduled for today between the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre and the struggle committee of the Okharpauwa locals was postponed until tomorrow. Dr Sumitra Manandhar, general manager of SWMRMC, said the struggle committee members failed to attend the meeting due to the public transportation strike. "We have received applications from four private offices to build an alternative landfill site," said Dr Manandhar. Talking to The Himalayan Times, Ramesh Prasad Paudel, coordinator of the struggle committee, said they would continue their protest until the government pledged in writing for sustainable waste management and a development package for the Okharpauwa locals. He claimed that the idea of searching for an alternative landfill site was just misusing the resources of the country.

According to Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of environment department under KMC, about 1,000 tonnes of garbage is lying on the roads of Kathmandu. He said they would be able to collect the garbage within two days if talks with the struggle committee went well.