Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Richard McSorley, a British tourist, walked by a disgusting heap of garbage in Kathmandu, Nepal's ca...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Richard McSorley, a British tourist, walked by a disgusting heap of garbage in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, on Thursday, reminiscing about the city's cleanliness when he first visited it decades ago.
"If I were a new tourist, I would be horrified," the 48-year-old told Reuters, pointing to a rubbish heap on the side of a street in Kathmandu, where the government is eager to attract more visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the country's cash-strapped economy.
Attempts to dump garbage in a small landfill site in a village outside of Kathmandu were greeted with opposition from locals, resulting in a waste disposal dilemma that has persisted for weeks in the city surrounded by hills.
Biswas Dhungana, a protester at the Bancharedanda dump site, stated that villagers would not permit trash-laden vehicles to enter since authorities had done little to create infrastructure and handle waste.
Dhungana told Reuters, "We have been forced to live like pigs in filthy conditions for years since the government has done nothing to keep the community clean."
Hundreds of locals, including women and children, created a rock barrier on the road to Bancharedanda on Wednesday, causing approximately 200 trucks carrying Kathmandu's waste to return without unloading.
The demonstrators hurled stones from hilltops, wounding three police officers, who then fired tear gas shells to disperse the demonstrations, according to three witnesses.
Sunil Lamsal, the officer in charge of Kathmandu's waste management, stated that he was working to answer the Bancharedanda residents' issues as quickly as feasible.
Lamsal stated, "We are coordinating with the demonstrators and will ask them to a meeting to discuss the issue."
But Kathmandu's streets are becoming increasingly littered, adding to locals' anxiety.
Laloo Magar, a citizen of Kathmandu, remarked, "I am fed up with the government's inability to maintain the city clean." "It is a disgrace... a shame."
