Bajura, June 11

Budhinanda Municipality’s decision to construct a dumping site at Dadi Chaur has faced strong opposition from locals, who have vowed to scuttle the project citing its adverse impact on the nearby human settlement.

According to locals, they had to resort to a protest after the municipality ignored their concerns about its impact on the nearby human settlement that lies within 100 metres from the proposed site on the border of Wards 5 and 7.

In a show of protest, locals of Jethariwada in Ward No 7 and Birsaina in Ward No 5 padlocked the municipality office from Thursday to Monday.

“As the lockout has put service seekers at the receiving end, we decided to lift the lockout for a few days keeping in mind the service seekers’ inconvenience,” said local Bharat BK, adding they were ready to go to any extent to get their demand heard.

Earlier, the locals had submitted a memorandum to the municipality by voicing their concerns.

But as the memorandum drew a blank, the locals had resorted to the lockout. Locals have further said they are preparing to submit one more memorandum to the District Administration Office.

According to locals, the proposed facility will affect the nearby Dalit settlement.

Besides, they have cited a number of reasons, including location of the proposed site between the Martadi-Kolti and Beldanda-Kuru road and the sloping terrain.

Meanwhile, the municipality has already completed a tender process to get the project started.

Mayor Padam Kumar Giri accused the locals of politicising the issue.

“We’ve followed all the required process to develop the facility, including the environment impact assessment.

The locals are politicising the issue. The fact is that the project doesn’t affect any settlement or road,” he said.

The Garbage Management Act 2011 has entitled local bodies to manage garbage.

The act dictates that the management of refuse should be carried out by taking locals into confidence to avoid any adverse impact on the environment.