KATHMANDU, August 9: Narrow footpaths. Roads with potholes. Uncontrollable Traffic jams. The capital city is already in a sorry state. But the situation has worsened even more due to the 'heaps of garbage' found everywhere in the squares, alleys and corners of the capital city these days.
"Now I don't even want to go out," says Mandira Rawal, a local of Kamal Pokhari, "The capital city has become 'rich in garbage'." Fed up with the problem of garbage under various excuses, Rawal wants a long-term solution to waste management. "More than the garbage piled up this time, the worry is about how much more complicated the problem of waste management has become," she said.
Revika Rai, who lives near Charkhal, Dillibazar, has the same problem. Rai, who works at a furniture store, says she finds it very hard even to sit in her office. Rai, who has to wait for customers, is fed up with the insects' whining as the garbage has started piling up in front of her shop.
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"If you don't open the shop, you are afraid that the garbage will pile up on the pavement in front of the shop," she said, showing the garbage outside the compound of the prison there, "The smell of it will give you a headache in an instant" She added. Housewives who are supposed to be holding the hands of their children are seen walking on the streets with their hands blocking their noses. Young children on their way to school look fed up with the piles of garbage.
According to infectious disease expert Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, during the time of rains there is a high chance that the pile of garbage can spread infections or diseases. He said, “There are a number of risks, ranging from fever to cholera. The bodies concerned should be serious in this regard.” He said that due to the risk of infection, attention should be paid to this in time. "As a sign, fever patients have started to increase," he adds, "This should be taken as a warning and we should move toward a solution."
Navin Manandhar, the spokesperson for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, however, claims that the garbage is being collected. It was being collected until yesterday (Saturday), but today (Sunday) it has stopped due to some obstacles. Manandhar said that the garbage piled up in the Kamalpokhari and Kalimati areas of the capital is because the private companies that collect the garbage from those areas did not pick it up. "We have contacted the contractor of those areas," he said, "We will find out why they have not collected the garbage.
From July 17, the metropolis had asked the residents to separate the biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Immediately after that, on July 20th, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City issued a public notice and requested not to bring out garbage outside the house for a week as the road repair work has to be done in Sisdol area. Manandhar says that it will be difficult to manage the garbage in all places for a few days as it will take some more time to complete the road repair work.
However, the problem does not seem to end even when the road construction is completed. The problem of waste management has become even more serious as the residents of Banchare Danda have warned that they will not allow the KMC to dump the Valley’s garbage there from August 17, saying that the work has n’t been done according to the agreement. "We have been forced to take such a decision because the promises made to us in the past have not been fulfilled," says Sri Ram Dhungana of the Banchare Danda Landfill Site Concern Committee.
