Dhangadhi, a sub-metropolis without a garbage dump !

Dhangadhi: The Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan collects more than 16 tons of garbage everyday. However, the garbage is collected only from few wards out of the 19 wards in the metropolitan city. 

Ironically, the Sub-Metropolitan does not have an allotted dump yard to manage the collected waste. Therefore, the debris collected from the few wards are dumped into rivers, forests and vacant lands.

A Regional Urban Development Program has been implemented in Dhangadhi for proper management of waste. However, the sub-metropolitan has not been able to finalise a piece of land to construct a dump yard. 

Initially, a piece of land was selected in Ward No. 1 and 2 but the residents of the ward heavily opposed the plan. 

Currently, the sub-metropolitan is planning  to build a waste management center on the land owned by the National Forest Area of ​​Ward No. 7. But the process of land acquisition has not started yet, says Dijraj Bhatta, Division Engineer of Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan. 

“A processing center is being designed for the construction of the dump yard on the selected land after its soil testing. 
Samples of the soil have been sent to Kathmandu for testing. Once that work is completed, an environmental impact assessment will be conducted. While the work related to land acquisition will be done by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the Local Administration, “he said.

According to the Regional Urban Development Program, 43 acres of land is required for the construction of a waste management center. But the sub-metropolitan has not even sent a formal letter to the Federal Ministry of Forests and Environment for land acquisition.

A detailed plan report (DPR) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) are yet to be prepared for the construction of the waste management center. 

Engineer Bhatta said that the pros and cons of building the waste management center will also be studied. 

According to Santosh Mudbhari, spokesperson of the sub-metropolitan,  the construction of a waste management center has stalled due to the inability of the sub-metropolitan to provide land.  

As there is no waste management center in Dhangadhi, The practice of burning plastic waste is prevalent.