Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Thapa has called for implementation of the recent agreement to resolve the crisis of waste materials in Kathmandu Valley.
Expressing happiness at resumption of garbage collection after over two weeks Thapa has praised Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah and Urban Development Minister Ram Kumari Jhakri for taking initiative to that regard and stated that the agreement reached with locals of Sisdole-Banchare Danda should be implemented.
"Locals from Sisdole-Banchare Danda participating in the discussion convened by the ministry were saying this is the 175th agreement. Such agreements are reached after every crisis but not implemented. There is deep suspicion that this deal will also not be implemented. This normal doubt should be dispelled by implementing the agreement to the letter and within the said deadline," Thapa, who is a House of Representatives (HoR) member from Kathmandu district, has tweeted on Sunday.
Pointing that some works mentioned in the deal are beyond the remit of the Urban Development Ministry, Thapa has said the Prime Minister's Office should take initiative to get the other ministries complete those works including land acquisition completed in time.
He has also called for a committee to monitor whether the commitments are fulfilled.
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and locals of Sisdole-Banchare Danda reached an 18-point agreement Thursday night allowing vehicles carrying waste materials at the dumping site only during the night.
The earlier agreement reached following dialogue at the Urban Development Ministry Monday night could not be implemented as the protesting locals were not represented in that deal. The latest agreement was signed in presence of the protesting locals who had been obstructing dumping of waste materials even after the agreement on Monday night.
Mayor of Kathmandu Balendra Shah, Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol and elected representatives from the local bodies where the dumping site lies signed the latest agreement and locals stopped obstructing the vehicles carrying waste materials from Friday onward.
Waste materials will be dumped only during the night as per the new agreement and the KMC will complete necessary arrangements including light and road maintenance within three months for dumping the garbage only during the night.
The KMC will make arrangements to control stench coming from the garbage within a month, stop leachate from waste materials reaching the river and seepage of liquid from the vehicles carrying waste materials down on the road.
The KMC will also allocate budget for development of the affected area annually as per the agreement.
The deal signed earlier in the week had agreed to bury the garbage under a 15-centimeter layer of soil after dumping garbage at the site every day to stop stench. Chemical or biological treatment measures were also be adopted on recommendation of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) to stop the malodor.
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) was to issue a notice to keep biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste separately at every household. The KMC was to look for a place to collect the biodegradable waste and convert that into compost during the intervening period.
The agreement had also committed to start process to shut down the Sisdole landfill site where garbage has been dumped for 17 years and convert it into a green zone, and start land acquisition process after determining the affected area at Banchare Danda following an environmental impact assessment within six months.
These provisions of the last agreement have also been included in the latest one.
