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JHAPA, Aug 18: Unmanaged disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous hospital waste near water sources and human settlement has been affecting locals in various places of the district. The dumped waste is subsequently carried away to arable lands down the stream where while tilling the farms the farmers become victim to the sharp waste - including broken glass fragments and syringe needles.
Aduwa River, which runs through Birtamod, has been used a dumping site for all types of hospital waste since many years. The river water is used for irrigation by farmers down stream. The waste while littering their farms with indecomposable waste like plastics, also litters in hazardous waste like glass pieces, syringe needles, and expired medicinal chemicals, among others.
"Syringes and broken glasses that were washed up into the farm field by the river are mixed up in the farm. Every one of us is afraid of being infected with the sharp objects while working," said Bhagwati Bhandari, daughter in law of the deceased Bhandari. "I had heard of numerous instances of villagers being pricked by sharp objects while working on farms. Unfortunately this happened to my own family this time."
Dumping waste near water sources is a problem that is faced by many others across the district. The waste dumped on the bank of Damak's Ratuwa River by the occupants of Bhutanese Refugee Camp in Beldangi, is swept all over the farms downstream. Ganesh Katuwal of Jyamirgadi-5 had to undergo a surgery when his leg was injured by sharp objects while working in his farm in July.
"We have requested time and again for not dumping waste into the river," informed Katuwal, who is also the chief of Ninda Dhobikhola Irrigation Project, "but the waste continues to be dumped near the Ninda Bridge of Dhulabari. That river washes away all that waste on our farms." Besides health hazards from the waste, every year the farmers have to invest additional manpower to get rid of the litter dumped on the farm by the river.
Aduwa River in Birtamode also shares the same fate. All hospital waste in the area is dumped on its bank which is than washed away into the farms of Birtabajar, Biratpokhari, Kolatoli, Sainikdhap and Rajgadh. "Farmers from southern region of Birtamode have been complaining about this problem for over a decade now. But instead of getting resolved, the problem continues to grow bigger with every passing year," Rudra Sitaula from Birtamode Municipality- 9, said. "Many farmers have been injured by the hospital wastes that inundate their field. I myself have taken a handful of them for medical centers for treatment," he added.
"Hospital waste consist of hazardous waste that can be infectious and source of multiple diseases" informed Dr. Raju Sedai of Mechi Zonal Hospital. "Discarded syringes may even be infected with blood of patients with fatal diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV. It is essential that such waste is disposed with utmost care."
Root of the problem
It is not just the hospitals or the locals that dump waste on river banks but even the municipalities have been doing the same. Though some municipalities had acquired property for landfill, these sites have been not brought into use. Environment impact assessment reports, conducted after acquiring the land, restricted such lands from bringing into use. Bhadrapur Municipality has been dumping waste on the banks of Mechi River and on other open fields. Similarly the Damak Municipality has been dumping waste on the bank of Ratuwa River and Mechi Municipality on the banks of Mechi River.
"We are aware of the haphazard dumping of waste," said Megraj Bastola, Chief of Administration at Birtamod Municipality. "We are planning to take strict actions against people who dump wastes into the river. We have already issued public notice in this regard and are planning to deploy manpower in near future to solve this problem," he added.
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