No sewerage, waste management system in Rampur

Rampur Municipality in Palpa district of Lumbini province sounds good in terms of vocalizing the slogan of a city without sewerage system. However, the sewerage and waste management in the municipality remains awful about performance in the sanitation sector.

Mayor Raman Bahadur Thapa boasts of announcing the municipality as a sewage pipes free town and its beauty.  Thapa frequently announced in public forums and programs that the dignity of town was being it as a sewerage pipes free and clean city .

Contrary to the mayor’s claims, the waste management and environment perspectives are very pathetic in the city, said the local denizens. “Our elected representatives are jokers,” said Lok Nath Dhakal,  resident of Rampur-6.  “Their words and actions many times go just opposite, “ he added.

The waste generated from toilets and safety tanks are  connecting to streams and rivers merging to cultural and holy Kaligandaki River, said locals of densely populated Ward 5 and 6.

According to the municipal authority,  the municipality has some 42,000 people with 7,500 households in all of its 10 wards. The municipality owns seven vehicles in order to manage waste in the city.

The municipality allocates Rs 4m to Rs 5m for environment programs. Additionally, a similar amount of budget is allocated for the environment sector through ward programs.

The local body purchased 19 ropanis of land to develop a landfill site to dump waste at Ward 4. But the locals protested against it and the civil body  could not manage it. Now, it is dumping waste at different places in Ward 6. The local people are also opposing it due to the waste hazard and bad smells.

However, the local government has failed to segregate waste nor did it restrict throwing plastic waste in open places, farm lands, rivers,  forests and streams. “The municipality doesn’t care about serious issues but misuse of funds  and natural resources,” said Tulasi Ram Pokharel, resident of Ward 5.

The municipality even has not maintained to place dust bins in the public places, busy corners and crossroads.  “A few schools have  themselves managed to put trash bins,” said Krishna Thapa, chief of Forest,  Environment and Natural Disaster Management Section of Rampur Municipality. 

Thapa further said that they have not placed a single trash bin in the city. “We distribute fruits and other trees to protect the environment in the town,“ he added. “We have not done anything special in this sector though throwing wastes to water resources is a crime,” he admitted.