RAJBIRAJ: Rajbiraj Municipality that was established on the design of Jaipur, the Pink City of India, is getting polluted by the day due to lack of garbage management. In addition to improper garbage management, free movement of stray animals like pigs have also made the municipal town mismanaged and dirty.

The municipality, originally comprising of 10 wards, now has 16 wards after neighbouring VDCs were included into the municipal area. Despite the extension in the town area, the municipal citizens have not been able to avail even minimum facilities.

Sukharam Yadav, former Mayoral cadidate from CPN-UML for the municipality, said that Rajbiraj is one of the oldest towns, which was established with organised town planning. But the situation of the town is worsening day by day in terms of sanitation. He also pointed that the municipality has not been able to satisfactorily collect and manage the garbage.

Yadav further expressed his discontent over addition of six more wards within the municipality which has made the situation more challenging, while collecting the garbage even once a day has been difficult.

Similarly, Kaushilya Devi, a resident of Ward 8 complained that in spite of the extension of municipal area, unavailability of adequate dumping sites has increased unorganised dumping of garbage, which has further filled the air with repulsive smell.

The problem of garbage disposal has not come under control because even after the municipality collects the garbage from the market area in the morning, local businessman Ishwor Prasad Sah shared. People start dumping the garbage again on the roads during the day, added Sah.

Damayanti Devi, a cauliflower vendor in Hatiya, Rajbiraj also has similar complain. She said that she has to sit close to the garbage all day. She is further dissatisfied because the municipality takes Rs 30 as tax each day from her as soon as she lays down her vegetable basket and yet she has to sell her cauliflowers beside dirty garbage all day long.

On the other hand, Mayor of Rajbiraj Municipality Shambhu Yadav said that they have been working with same resources as in the past despite the extension of municipal area, and expressed his intention to address the issue and improve the situation. “We have also been recently elected,” he said, “we will soon start out efforts to bring improvement in cleanliness of the town.”