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GARBAGE ROW continues
- Trash talks end inconclusively; city poised to stink further
KATHMANDU, AUG 28 -
When collection of garbage from the Valley streets resumes remains uncertain after talks between the government and the locals residing near the Aletar Landfill Site in Nuwakot district ended inconclusively on Saturday.
With the halt in garbage collection for the sixth consecutive day on Saturday, over 1,500 tonnes of trash is awaiting disposal. Despite
the extended meeting at the City Hall in Kathmandu, officials of the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre (SWMRMC), Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and representatives of the landfill site residents could not reach an agreement.
Legal Advisor of SWMRMC Dipendra Oli said the demand to employ locals as drivers and helpers in the newly-acquired vehicles was not agreeable. The Chinese government on Friday handed over 108 vehicles to the KMC. “We are ready to fulfill their development-related demands,” said Oli. “But employment cannot be guaranteed in the demanded number.”
Locals residing near the landfill site have been obstructing waste disposal since Monday putting forth 13 demands including an 80-bedded hospital and ambulances. Oli further said they were looking for alternatives to dump garbage piling in city centres such as Naya Baneshwor, New Road, Jamal, Putalisadak, Chabahil, Kalanki, Bagbazar and Sorahkhutte.
Secretary at the Ministry of Local Development Krishna Gyawali said the government had opened all doors for talks. “The government will hold more talks with the locals and try to solve the problem at the earliest,” he said,
adding that local residents will be employed in the under-construction Bancharey Danda landfill site, which the government plans to develop for a long-term solution to the dumping problem.
“We are preparing to partner with private companies, hoping it will ease the matter,” said Gyawali.
However, the locals are refusing to accept any kind of agreement compromising on immediate fulfilment of most of the demands. “We will not let garbage-laden vehicles pass our villages until 60 percent of vehicle jobs are offerred to local residents,” said Chandra Bahadur Shrestha, coordinator of the struggle committee of locals from Chhatreydeurali VDC Wards No. 6 and 9 in Dhading district as well as Okaharpauwa VDC Wards No. 4, 5, 7 and 8 in Nuwakot district. He added the agitation would continue even if the government used force.
KMC, on the other hand, has said it will send vehicles with garbage on Sunday.
Posted on: 2010-08-29 08:43
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