It has been about a month and a half since the incident of locals not allowing Kathmandu's garbage to be dumped at the landfill site in Bancharedanda, Nuwakot. The garbage landfill site has been obstructed from time to time, led by local people's representatives, raising issues of development promises made by the government, including roads, and the impact on the health of locals.

This has been an unsolvable problem for the past 35 years. After the change of 2046, one of the issues that has heated up the streets and houses is waste management. Even if we do not take into account the Panchayat period, the waste management problem that started then is still almost the same. Because, even now, the permanent dumping site area has not been properly managed. That is why Kathmandu has not stopped smelling due to the inability to collect waste from time to time.

In the 80s, German technicians returned after spending nearly 260 million on waste management. But the waste problem was not solved. Three governments had been formed, including the interim government formed after 2046. By 2052, preparations were underway to form a fourth government. But instead of solving the waste problem, there was a growing tendency to make it a political 'issue'.

In 2048, the government was formed under the leadership of the Nepali Congress, and the local body Kathmandu Metropolitan City was also led by the Congress. At that time, the mayor of Kathmandu was PL Singh and the deputy mayor was Nabindra Raj Joshi. Since the central government and the local government were from the Congress, the then opposition party UML raised the issue of garbage from time to time in the House of Representatives formed in the 2048 elections. There was a constant activity of raising voices in the House and protesting on the streets regarding garbage.

At that time, with the technical assistance of Germany, garbage containers were placed in various places through the Kathmandu Valley Waste Management Project. Activities were conducted to raise public awareness about waste management. But the people of Kathmandu did not agree to throw garbage in the containers. They argued that the garbage in the containers would rot and stink even more. Instead, piles of garbage were seen on the streets. As piles of garbage began to appear everywhere on the streets of Kathmandu, MPs would start giving speeches from the streets to the parliament. The Gokarna landfill site was built with the efforts of German technicians. But the government had also built the Bagmati bridge and the road leading to the landfill. However, the landfill could not be put into use.

Germany had tried to ensure equal participation of the government and citizens. The government, on the other hand, had made the management center a place for recruiting employees rather than doing work. The Germans had also opened a fertilizer factory in Teku. However, after locals protested that the surrounding settlements were stinking, the interim minister Achyutraj Regmi had the factory closed.

At that time, the municipality had 68 trucks and a few tractors. But there was no reliable place to dump the collected garbage. Kathmandu Deputy Mayor Joshi used to complain, ‘It won’t happen just because I do work.’ Unless there is coordination and a working mindset, it will not be possible just by talking.'

According to the 2048 census, the population of Kathmandu was 425,727. But in 2052, the population was estimated to have increased to nearly 700,000. Joshi had said that it was difficult to solve the garbage problem due to lack of coordination between the government and the municipality. The biggest problem was the landfill site. The municipality used to dump some garbage in the Shobha Bhagwati area. But gradually, there was a shortage of space in Shobha Bhagwati too.

At that time, 600 cubic meters of garbage were collected in Kathmandu. But only 100 cubic meters of garbage was collected daily. Piles of garbage were seen on the corners and sides of the roads. Even though more space could be expanded in the Bhagwati Wahal area for dumping garbage, the Congress and the UML were worried that their votes would decrease in the elections. There was a fear that the vote bank would be damaged if garbage was dumped in a way that would harm the locals.

The previous (Congress) government had decided that Okharpouwa in Nuwakot was a suitable place to dump garbage. The government team that reached Okharpouwa with a band had also said that the dumping site had been confirmed. A committee with the participation of local people's representatives was formed to implement it. The place was found suitable during an environmental study. But before the proposal was implemented, the UML led the government in the mid-term elections held in 2051 Kartik.

The minority government had given the responsibility to Keshav Sthapit, a candidate from UML who competed with Joshi for the post of deputy mayor, to manage Kathmandu's garbage. A few days after Sthapit started work, he held a press conference at the Annapurna Hotel and informed that it was confirmed that garbage would be dumped in Seti Devi village. But former UML MP Krishna Gopal Shrestha disagreed with Sthapit's proposal. Therefore, the decision could not be implemented.

Then, an attempt was made to manage waste in Chunnikhel. Before that attempt was successful, the then Local Development Minister CP Mainali had said that waste management would be completed by 2052 Jestha. After CP himself was removed from the ministry, his efforts were also thwarted. At that time, it was said, ‘The pile of waste is increasing in Kathadau.’ Now, an unprecedented opportunity has come for anyone who wants to get the votes of the people of Kathmandu. There is an opportunity to clean up the waste and get votes.’

The issue of waste management in the country’s capital Kathmandu has never been resolved since the Panchayat period. Repeated attempts failed due to the prevailing trend of making it a matter of political maneuvering rather than organizing. In this context, the news prepared by linking stories of the problems faced in waste management was published by Kantipur Daily on 2052 Shrawan 3 under the title 'Voting Politics on a Pile of Waste'.

If we leave aside the Panchayat, it has been 35 years since democracy was achieved. Seven parliamentary elections have been held including the Constituent Assembly and four local level elections. The number of governments has almost reached the same number as the number of years since the multi-party system was achieved. The top leaders of all parties have become Prime Ministers. But Kathmandu's waste problem has not been solved permanently. Even now, ministers are in a situation where they have to rush to arrange waste management.