June 8: The government on Tuesday mobilized police to forcefully remove the obstruction created by the locals of Banchare Danda landfill site where the garbage collected from Kathmandu valley is dumped.

Vehicles carrying garbage from the valley was escorted by police after the Banchare Danda Landfill Site Affected Area Concern Committee stopped the vehicles at the landfill site.

The locals of Banchare Danda stared to protest from Tuesday morning after the government announced to dump garbage as per the agreement reached on Monday night.

Police took Shri Ram Dhungana, the chairman of the committee under control along with two locals by force while they were protesting at Aletar, located between Sisdole and Banchare Danda. SP Ram Prakash Shah of Nuwakot informed that the vehicles stopped at Sisdole were escorted to Banchare Danda.

Garbage disposal has been disrupted time and again due to the protests of the locals. The Ministry of Urban Development reached an agreement with the people's representatives of Sisdole and Banchare Danda on Monday night to remove the obstruction caused by the locals. The MoU states that the landfill site at Sisdole, which has been accumulating garbage of Kathmandu since 17 years, will be closed and turned into a green zone. The two sides had also agreed to determine the affected area of ​​ Banchare Danda dumping site for land acquisition.

The land acquisition process of the affected area was supposed to be started within six months on the basis of the environmental impact assessment report of Banchare Danda. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City had earlier conducted an environmental impact assessment of the area affected by the Banchare Danda dumping site by an expert team of NAST. The metropolis also agreed to reveal the report to the public.

In the case of Sisdole, the agreement states that the process of closing the dumping site will be started within six months by making a management plan based on the environmental impact assessment report. The letter also mentions that arrangements will be made to prevent the emission of foul smell from Sisdole and Banchare Danda and immediate arrangement will be made for managing the leakage of contaminated water from the garbage of Sisdole.

The commitment letter states that the Ministry of Urban Development will allocate Rs 425 million to construct five different roads in the upcoming fiscal year 2079/80 in areas affected by the Banchare Danda landfill site. In addition, Rs 17 million will be allocated for river control, construction of community buildings and temples and tree planting. The Ministry of Health will be recommended to operate a 10-bed hospital for the residents of the affected areas, and the process of upgrading schools in Sisdole and Banchare Danda areas will also be initiated.

Despite the agreement, the locals continued protest after which the police was mobilized to resume waste management in the area.

Waste management issue to the House

Nepali Congress General Secretary and former Minister Gagan Kumar Thapa urged the government to inform the parliament about the recent problems in waste management in the capital. Speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, he urged the Ministry of Urban Development to provide information on the problems in waste management in Kathmandu rather than answering disputes and questions.

According to him, billions of rupees are needed to fulfill the promises made with the people of Sisdole and Banchare Danda for waste management of Kathmandu metropolis. However, he suggested that some amount could be allocated for this from next year's budget.

Similarly, Thapa said that it would be difficult to solve the task of waste management at once. He said that money could be allocated for those places from next year's budget. Referring to some foreign practices, he said that a sustainable solution should be sought for waste management in Kathmandu. He also said that initiatives should be taken to fulfill the promises made earlier.