Hum Raj Thapa, a local tea seller at Lagankhel bus stop, said nobody has come to clear the waste accumulating near the bus park for over 10 days. He lamented the lack of concerns shown by the authorities and the apathy of the locals toward keeping the city clean and healthy.
"The waste is rotting. It was here when I left Kathmandu for Dashain and it is here after I have returned. The stench is unbearable," said Thapa.
Working from the roadside has become a huge challenge for Hemant Magarati. A cobbler by profession, his only defense against the stench is a thin layer of mask that hardly filters the smell and the polluted air.
"I have had this shop here for the last four years. Garbage pile up is not a new problem here, but this time around the situation is getting worse," said Magarati.
This situation is no less different at Mahalaxmisthan area where household wastes have been mounting at roadsides for nearly a week now. Only after we filed a complaint did a tipper come to collect the waste on Sunday, said Sonam Rai, a local.
"When it rains the garbage rots and the heat in the afternoon decays the wastes, after which the stench gets worse. I don't understand why concerned authorities don't take garbage issues seriously," said Rai.
Meanwhile, Chief of Environment Management Division (EMD) at Sub Meteropolitan City Office (KMC), Lalitpur, Pradeep Maharjan attributed the issue of garbage collection problem with the shortage of fuel.
"Even two days of fuel shortage can turn Lalitpur area into a dumping site. We are getting fuel but the delivery is erratic, which hampers our daily garbage collection," said Maharjan.
According to Maharjan, they collect over 90 tons of household wastes everyday and they need at least 350 liters of diesel a day.
"We are trying our best but our effort goes waste if fuel is not supplied on time," said Maharjan.
On the other hand, Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of Environment Management Division at Kathmandu Municipality Office (KMC), assured of no garbage problem in Kathmandu city unlike the Lalitpur area.
"We have been mobilizing as many tippers as we can for garbage collection. Huge amount of wastes get generated during Dashain festival and it will take at least three days to clean up the garbage," said Shrestha.
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