POKHARA, March 2: Political parties are ringing out attractive slogans and drafting manifestos to woo voters during the election campaign. All candidates in Pokhara pledge to make the tourist city clean, beautiful, and green.
Yet, while candidates promise a clean and beautiful city, piles of garbage along main streets, intersections, lanes, and households are visibly irritating everyone. Parties campaigning with catchy slogans are now spectators as trash piles up on the city’s streets.
After a month-long halt, garbage was collected once at the end of Magh (mid-February), but nothing has been done since. Main streets, intersections, and corners of houses are now littered. Recent drizzles in Pokhara have washed garbage onto roads, and with rising temperatures, the stench is spreading. Garbage on roadsides spills into streets, making mornings particularly unpleasant.
Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) complains that, due to political parties’ non-cooperation, garbage management has stalled just before the election. Mayor Dhanraj Acharya posted on social media accusing political parties and locals of double standards in waste disposal. According to him, repeated attempts to decide on dumping sites have failed.
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Spokesperson Motiraj Timilsena echoed similar concerns. He stated political parties’ lack of cooperation is making waste management difficult.
“Still, there is no final decision on where to manage garbage. It seems unlikely this will be resolved before the election,” he said.
He added that parties are reluctant to exert pressure to clear garbage due to fear of voter backlash. “All parties are avoiding responsibility now, despite the need to be accountable,” he said.
Without party support and local cooperation, PMC cannot forcibly manage waste. “Citizens are already feeling the impact. PMC is aware, but widespread non-cooperation has stalled collection. The metropolitan is continuously trying to coordinate and resolve the issue,” Timilsena noted. Parties promised cooperation in meetings, but the follow-through was lacking.
Due to disputes over waste management sites, Pokhara has long struggled to manage city garbage. PMC had been using the Lameahal site in Ward 32, but after reaching capacity, they sought a new location. As election dates near, piles of garbage in markets have drawn public criticism. Citizens are distressed by household garbage accumulation.
PMC says the Lameahal site is full, and no alternative has been finalized. Though the city has been seeking a permanent solution for three years, nothing has been settled. Visits to other cities provided models for management, but no permanent site has been confirmed. A six-month trial with a foreign company, agreed on Mangsir 2, to create a semi-permanent processing center stalled due to land disputes.
Bishnuhari Adhikari, former coordinator of civic society Kaski, claims parties obstruct garbage management to make it an election issue. “Local politics has interfered. Parties agree verbally but do not act. The metropolitan’s biggest weakness is failing to manage decomposable, non-decomposable, and marketable waste for over three and a half years,” he said.
He noted that although PMC promised a permanent plant, it has yet to materialize. “This problem isn’t only that of the metropolitan city, but of the whole city. Ward offices have also failed to manage household waste. Political parties have focused more on complicating the issue than cooperating,” Adhikari added.
Election manifestos pledging a clean Pokhara have worsened the problem. “Parties making unreliable promises have not cooperated in waste management. Instead of coordinating with local representatives, they made grand statements but did not assist with household garbage,” he said.
If immediate action is not taken, the stench will worsen. Before the Pokhara International Airport’s operation, PMC closed the old landfill at Bachchebuduwa in Ward 14 and began dumping at Lameahal, Ward 32. Despite local opposition, the city began dumping for six months. Now that site is full, forcing PMC to search for a new location.
Daily, 150–200 tons of garbage are collected in Pokhara, excluding industrial and hospital waste. Garbage is transported by 20 municipal trucks daily, and six private companies collect it from households after charging fees.
