Garbage Disposal in Kathmandu Valley Faces Opposition at Banchare Danda Landfill

Garbage in Kathmandu Valley has been taken to Banchare Danda under police escort for disposal.

On Friday, around 120 vehicles carrying garbage from Kathmandu Valley reached the Banchare Danda Landfill site, accompanied by the police. However, locals attempted to halt the garbage-laden vehicles at Sisdol, resulting in the police using force to disperse the crowd.

"After the police removed the local crowd, the vehicles proceeded to Banchare Danda," Mitra Ghimire, General Secretary of the Solid Waste Management Association of Nepal (SWMAN) was quoted as saying. 

Despite opposition from locals, the garbage-laden vehicles eventually reached Banchare Danda. Ghannath Bajgain, Ward President of Kakani Rural Municipality-3 in Nuwakot, reported that the police used force to clear the way for the garbage disposal.

Sumitra Ghimire, a local resident, was quoted as mentioning that the police used force against the protesters and transported the garbage trucks to Banchare Danda. She expressed frustration, highlighting the perceived oppression faced by Banchare Danda and Sisdol residents from the state.

Local residents had been obstructing the disposal of garbage at the Banchare Danda landfill site since Shrawan 1. This obstruction prevented any waste from Kathmandu from reaching the landfill site. Residents of Banchare Danda and Sisdol had stopped waste-carrying vehicles heading to the landfill site on the day the new financial year began (Shrawan 1), citing unfulfilled past agreements.

The obstruction has already caused issues in Kathmandu as 380 trucks head to Banchare Danda daily. On 2nd Shrawan, after 30 trucks carrying garbage returned from the road, the garbage of Kathmandu had been interrupted.

But, there was no obstacle when 20 trucks carrying soil for capping went to Banchare Danda on Thursday. However, after receiving information that locals would block the vehicles carrying garbage, the Ministry of Urban Development sent the garbage trucks to Banchare Danda with police protection on Friday. Teku transfer station was getting full after 5 days of garbage not being picked up and Lalitpur Metropolitan City had issued a notice to the metropolitan residents to manage the garbage inside their homes.