Dhading, April 4

Dumping of garbage from Mahadevbenshi bazaar has polluted nearby Agra and Mahesh streams, which used to be the source of drinking water for bazaar dwellers till a few years back.

Locals from Mahadevbenshi, a business hub in the district, have been dumping all kinds of garbage into the streams due to lack of a dumping site. Foul smell emanating from the polluted rivers has been a nuisance for the bazaar residents. The bazaar falls under Thakre Rural Municipality.

The rural municipality has the biggest population in the district.

Thakre Rural Municipality came into being after merging the then Kebalpur, Goganpani, Thakre, Tasarphu and Bhumesthan village development committees.

Local teacher Ram s Rupakheti said the garbage collected in Mahadevbenshi was being dumped into Mahesh stream and the foul smell had become unbearable for the bazaar residents. “Just a few years back people used to drink water from the rivulet. It has got polluted beyond imagination,” said Arun Lama, a local.

Rabi Ojha, chairman of Ward No 11 said the huge garbage piled up with the increase in human population. He informed that the rural municipality was looking for a dumping site so that people living in the bazaar, vegetable markets and shop owners didn’t dump garbage in the stream.

The rural municipality has allocated Rs 40 lakh in this fiscal to construct a dumping site. However, it has not yet come up with a dumping site, adding to the woes of locals.