INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, MARCH 6After breaching multiple deadlines to construct the sanitary landfill site at Banchare Danda in the
bordering area of neighbouring Nuwakot and Dhading districts since its inception in 2007, the government has yet again set a new deadline to
bring the much-awaited project by mid-April.
Govt to provide relief for kin of disappeared conflict victims
US sets Feb 28 deadline for MCC ratification
The Ministry for Urban Development has claimed that the much-hyped project has almost come into
operation.
Construction of one out of two cells has already been completed and another cell will also be completed soon, as
per the MoUD.The MoUD had taken initiative to construct a 15-metre tall structure called cells at the landfill site following the Cabinet
decision on 3 December 2018 to implement the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project.Minister Ram Kumari Jhankri, who had also gone for
official site-seeing at Banchare Danda a few days ago, directed the concerned authorities to complete the work within a month
The modern landfill site will manage a separate tank for collection of hazardous liquid that oozes from waste products.Earlier, 11 urban
development ministries that led this project had cast similar confidence since 2007 when the government acquired nearly 40 hectares land for
the same.The site is said to accommodate about three million cubic metres of garbage."With the completion of one cell, the sanitary landfill
site will be ready to dump the waste right now," said Padma Kumar Mainali, director general of the Department of Urban Development and
According to Mainali, the under-construction landfill site can hold the waste produced in Kathmandu valley for up to a maximum of 100 years
if proper standards of waste management are followed
However, the landfill site can hold the waste of the valley for a maximum of 20 years if dumping is carried out in the existing
manner.According to the Department of Environment, around 60 per cent of waste collected in the valley is recyclable while 30 per cent can
be reused.Only 10 to 11 per cent of solid waste would actually require dumping in the landfill site if the waste was properly
segregated.Currently, the valley generates over 1,000 metric tonnes of waste every day
The collected trash - both degradable and non-degradable - is dumped at Sisdole landfill site in Okharpauwa of Nuwakot district, 26 km away
from Kathmandu.The Sisdol landfill site was initially used as a short-term (two years) landfill site to dump the waste of the valley in 2002
However, the Sisdole landfill site is the only option left for Kathmanduties although it maxed out its capacity some years ago.Waste
management in Kathmandu has become a new challenge due to rapid population growth and lack of civic sense among the public.A version of this
article appears in the print on March 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com