BAJURA, FEBRUARY 22
Bajura's headquarters Martadi and its surroundings have become polluted after Badimalika Municipality failed to manage a dumping site. The trash has been dumped on the roadside for the last four years.
The municipality has been dumping the garbage at Thuwakhad along the Sanphe-Martadi road section for four years. The responsibility was given to the local level to manage the garbage. Local levels need to take the locals into confidence while choosing a dumping site, but the local body has failed to do so.
Ambar Bahadur Dani, a local, said that the authority concerned had paid no attention to waste management in the municipality. Locals can be seen burning plastic openly, which is directly affecting the health of people.
Bajura Hospital Chief Prakash Raj Joshi said the mismanaged dumping site has directly affected the health of people as the garbage was burnt on the side of the road directly affecting the environment. Smoke has also affected human settlements at Martadi and Churata. Joshi said people could not walk along the road due to the foul smell emanating from the waste. The nearby rivers are also polluted due to the unmanaged garbage.
According to the municipality, the office has carried out environment impact assessment for the dumping site, but nothing came out of it. Acting Chief Administrative Officer Rangamal BK said that garbage was dumped in the open space. He said that a dumping site could not be constructed ad the Bahuli Khola swept away the road leading to the possible landfill site. BK said once the road was constructed they would manage the dumping site as well.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 23 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
