Don’t waste the chance

The new government must build on people’s trust in it to solve the valley’s waste problem.

Last Wednesday, when locals from the Bancharedanda landfill site on the Nuwakot-Dhading border went on a strike to prevent the waste of Kathmandu Valley and parts of Kavrepalanchok from entering the area, there was a sense of déjà vu . After all, whenever Kathmanduites don’t hear the whistles of garbage trucks tooting outside their doors, uncollected waste piles up in their surroundings for several weeks or even months. Yet the strike was called off on Sunday as the interim government swiftly responded to the problem. Minister for Urban Development Kulman Ghising visited the site and pledged to address locals’ demands within two weeks. But can the new government really address this long-standing issue or will this also turn out to be just another empty promise?