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Sisdole locals vow never to obstruct garbage dumping again

If the Sisdole locals don't again go back on their words again and the government sincerely fulfills its promises, the perennial garbage problem of Kathmandu would soon be over for good and probably never return to haunt the denizens of the city again.

The agitating Sisdole locals in a meeting with concerned government agencies Thursday agreed not to block Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) from dumping solid waste at Sisdole Landfill Site, as they had been doing for the majority of the past two weeks and many times prior to that.

According to an independent report, Sisdole locals have obstructed KMC from dumping city's wastage at the landfill site more than 100 times in the past two years, leaving Kathmandu's streets and pavements littered with stinking garbage that cause serious eye sore and possible health hazards.

For the first time, the Sisdole locals have also signed a written agreement with the government expressing their commitment not to obstruct dumping work in the coming days. In a similar gesture, the government has assured that all the valid demands of the locals including infrastructure development in the locality would be solved through dialogue.

With the agreement, KMC and Lalitpur sub-metropolis have started collecting garbage from today morning and transporting it to the landfill site without any obstruction. KMC officials said that they would clear the garbage from the capital within a few days. According to KMC, the valley generates up to 350 metric tones of solid waste every day.

Due to the obstruction by the Sisdole locals, heaps of stinking garbage has littered the pavements of the capital's roads from the past two weeks.

Reports said that the meeting also decided to earmark a budget of more than Rs 10 million for developing infrastructure and meeting other needs of Sisdole. nepalnews.com ag June 27 08