Landslide at landfill site, Kathmandu metropolis urges residents to hold back garbage

After a landslide struck the landfill site area amid continuous rainfall, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has urged residents not to put out household waste for now.

According to a notice issued Friday by the metropolis's Environment Management Department, soil mixed with mud has been sliding down onto the road used to transport waste and onto the landfill site at Sisdol. This has made it difficult for garbage trucks to reach the site and dump waste, so regular collection and transport will be affected for some time, the metropolis said, without specifying how long.

Until collection resumes, households, shops and businesses have been asked to keep their waste safely within their own premises, and to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

The metropolis has also asked people not to dump waste on roads, intersections, public spaces, open areas or in drains and streams, warning that indiscriminate dumping could clog drains and increase the risk of flooding and inundation during rain.

Waste collection and transport will resume as normal once the rain stops and conditions at the landfill site return to normal, the metropolis said.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has forecast moderate rain with thunder in Kathmandu today, with a 90 percent chance of rain, and light to heavy rain at a few places in Bagmati Province tomorrow.