Sharmila Pathak
KATHMANDU, Aug 9: Hardly a week has passed the littered Kathmandu streets were cleaned with the collection of garbage after a month of stench, the problem has recurred again.

Adding woes to the already afflicted Kathmanduities, the piles of garbage has even caused inconvenience to the commoners and vehicle.

However, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has maintained that the waste is being managed regularly in the recent days. Teku chowk is though piled up since Asar first week, it added.

Waste management is increasingly becoming a huge challenge for the Kathmandu Valley. The KMC has formed a five member committee under the chairmanship of Joint Secretary Ishwor Chandra Marahattha to seek short and long term measure for sustainable management of waste.

Joint Secretary Maharattha admitted that the waste was not collected in the Valley due to rains for three days, but it is resumed today.

According to KMC, Sisdol landfill site of Nuwakot will be used for waste management for coming six months. Although the acquisition of 1730 ropanis of land at Bancharedanda is complete for the new landfill site, further activity is halted.

The KMC is in dire need of alternative landfill site as the current Sisdol landfill site is being overflowed with garbage.

If the alternative is not ensured soon, the garbage problem will emerge again after three months, said Garbage Management Technical Assistance Centre, Bishwa Mani Gyawali.

A short term alternative should be ensured soon because it takes time to make ready Bancharedanda of Nuwakot as new landfill site.

Kathmandu Valley produces 1,000 metric tons of garbage every day, while KMC alone produces half it.

KATHMANDU, Aug 5: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has formed a five-member study committee to seek a permanent solution to the management of garbage generated from the Kathmandu Valley.

The committee led by joint secretary at the KMC Ishwor Chandra Marahatha is tasked with finding ways to manage a temporary and permanent landfill site, said a KMC official.

The federal capital city at present is struggling to manage valley’s waste as the Sisdole dumping ground is no longer receiving wastes at present following protest by the local people. The landfill site was being used to dump valley’s waste so far.

The committee will find ways for permanent solutions to the garbage problem and will suggest on building infrastructure for a landfill site at Banchera Danda.

Approximately 1730 ropanis of land have been pooled for constructing a garbage dump at Banchera Danda. Likewise, the committee will also seek ways to resolve problems related to Sisdole landfill site.

Chief administrative officers of all municipalities in the Kathmandu Valley are members of the committee. RSS

KATHMANDU, July 28: The problem for the management of Kathmandu Valley’s waste is likely to recur in the next three months if an alternative to the existing disposal site was not sought immediately.

The valley’s roads are at risk of stinking again due to piles of garbage in the next three months.

Only a few days ago, trash that had been piled on the roads for around the one month was managed. The problem of garbage management is increasing day by day in the valley.

There seems that garbage management problem would turn into a serious issue for the Valley people if authorities concerned did not feel it necessary to find a long-term solution for it.

The valley generated 1,000 metric tons on a daily basis while the Kathmandu Metropolis produces 500 metric tons alone. Some 75 percent of waste materials collected from the Kathmandu are managed in the Sisdole landfill site.

According to Waste Management Technical Assistance Center’s Executive Director Bishwamani Gyawali, it will take time to prepare Bancharedanda, the proposed new landfill site that lies some two kilometers far from the existing landslide site in Nuwakot, for the waste disposal.

It will take at least three years to make Bancharedanda readied for the garbage disposal.

Temporary landfill site is in need besides Bancharedanda is to be made a permanent solution for waste disposal. The Sisdole site has been so packed that it is likely to be overflowed. The site was constructed in 2062 B.S. with the capacity to deposit garbage only for two years since its construction. The site was expanded four times so far in a bid to increase its capacity.

Four months into the preliminary agreement with a private developer to implement integrated garbage management in the Kathmandu Valley, the final agreement is awaited however.

As the constitution has empowered local levels, it is up to Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage garbage, said Gyawali. “The KMC should initiate ways from now to manage a new dumping ground. Otherwise big problems will surface,” he warned.
However, the KMC is trying to shy away from the responsibility to manage valley’s waste by saying that the federal government is responsible to build a garbage dumping site at Bancharedanda as a permanent solution. KMC’s Joint Spokesperson Nawaraj Dhakal said construction of a landfill site would start soon in coordination with the central government. RSS

KATHMANDU, July 15: Owing to packed Sisdole landfill site, it will take some more days for Kathmandu Metropolitan city to collect the garbage from the Valley. The garbage is not collected in the Valley for a month.

The Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot got packed with the waste forcing KMC to halt the collection for nearly a month. Not only the space but also the road to ferry the waste is damaged.

Efforts are underway to repair the road and create more space in Sisdole, which would take a week, said the KMC.

Joint Spokesperson at KMC, Nabaraj Dhakal, said the regular management of waste was disrupted as it witnessed early rainfall causing damages on the road to landfill site.

However, all works for the management would complete in a week for regular collection of the garbage.

He requested all households not to take out the garbage but try to manage within homes for at least a week.

Meanwhile, Sita Sharma living in Kalaki, Kathmandu, said as this season sees comparatively more waste, frequent collection of waste is expected. But, KMC has not sent any container to pick the waste, she added.

“Heap of garbage began emanating stench, but it is not sure when the KMC sends containers. If it continues for some days, it may spread disease,” she pointed out the urgency.

KMC manages 500 metric tons of waste daily, while it is double from the Kathmandu Valley.

It was 12 years back that KMC had taken Sisdole for two years for the management of waste from Kathmandu Valley, but it is continuous till now going beyond the contract, according to the people from Sisdole vicinity.

An employee at environment department of the KMC, Yubaraj Khanal, said although the KMC was said to build a landfill site at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot for long term solution, no works were initiated to this regard. RSS

KATHMANDU, May 20: As high as 42 metric tonnes of garbage was collected and managed from various rivers and ring road areas in Kathmandu Valley on Saturday.

Around 15 metric tonnes of garbage was managed while cleaning the Bagmati River near Lalitpur area next to the Thapathali Bridge as a part of the 210th week of Bagmati clean-up campaign.
The campaign entered five years from today.

Campaigner Umesh Bohora said that more than 650 people from various walks of life and representing several government agencies in the country joined the clean-up campaign that aims to help the holy river Bagmati regain its chastity.

Participants joining today’s weekly also included personnel from security agencies including Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Nepal Police Force.

The next week’s cleaning drive will be launched in Naya Pul area in Tripureshower, shared campaigner Bohora.

On the occasion, the newly elected Lalitpur Metropolitan City ward no 10 Chairperson Narsingh Byanjankar and comedian duo Sitaram Kattel aka Dhurmus and Kumar Kattel aka Jigri were feted for their societal contribution.

Sitaram has already constructed three integrated settlements while Kumar is currently helping build similar settlement for the virtually impaired people in Saptari district.
The Blue Cross Hospital and Megha Hospital have pledged to take part in the clean-up drive regularly.
Similarly, some 80 volunteers representing Pudasaini Maitri Samaj and Ramro Jorpati Hamro Jorpati campaign extracted one metric tonnes of solid waste from the Guiheshwori stretch the Bagmati river, according to Samaj’s President Uttam Pudasaini.

Meanwhile, the Rudramati Clean-up Campagin, which is into its 168th week, scooped out garbage amounting to one metric tonnes from Kathmandu Metropolitan City ward no 9.
More than 200 volunteers were present in the event.

Likewise, four metric tonnes of waste products was extracted from the Bishnumati river and the Mahadev River as the Bishumati Clean-up Campaign entered 141st week today.

Tilganga Women’s group also collected one metric tonnes of garbage from the Tilganga stretch of the Bagmati river. Moreover, Ring Road Clean-up Campaign that entered its 6th week managed 20 metric tonnes of waste from Basundhara to Narayan Gopal Chowk stretch. RSS