By Kshitiz Siwakoti, Kathmandu, May 18: The use of a new landfill site at Bancharedanda which was scheduled to be used from May 15 has been delayed due to the prohibitory order that imposed to break the chain of the second wave of COVID-19. 

Situated between the border of Nuwakot and Dhading and constructed within a massive area of 1792 Ropanis, the new landfill site has been constructed to dispose of the metropolis’s waste for the upcoming 50 years. 

“The operation of the new landfill site was supposed to begin from May 15, but owing to existing prohibitory order, the use of it has been delayed for the foreseeable future,” said Hari Kumar Shrestha, the chief of the Environment Department of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC).

Along with the prohibitory order, Chief Shrestha has said that the residents nearby the new landfill site have various demands regarding healthcare and education of the children living within the proximity of the landfill. However, he has mentioned that talks with the residents have been progressing and that the site will be ready for use once the prohibitory order is lifted. 

According to the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Urban Development and Building of the KMC, Kumar Prasad Ghimire, the sanitation workers scheduled to dispose of the city’s waste have not been receiving their passes to go there amidst this prohibitory order.

“We have been coordinating with the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure that the sanitation workers get their passes to dispose of the waste in Bancharedanda landfill site,” Ghimire told The TRN Online. 

Further, Ghimire has also expressed concerns regarding the extended use of the Sisdol landfill site. “We want to start the disposal of the waste in Bancharedanda before the monsoons arrive as the rainwater seeping through the garbage can cause the formation of leachate which is harmful to the environment and further the Sisdol landfill site has been used way beyond its planned duration,” He added. 

More than 80 per cent of the construction at Bancharedanda has been completed and the rest of it is scheduled to be completed once the prohibitory order is lifted. However, Deputy Director-General Ghimire has assured that despite the remaining construction the site is still ready for use.

(Kshitiz Siwakoti is an intern with the TRN Online)