Waste sorting center in Bhimdatta remains unused despite Rs 10 million investment

Kanchanpur: The waste sorting center constructed at a cost of about Rs 10 million in Bhimdatta Municipality, Kanchanpur, has fallen into disuse, raising concerns about the effective management of municipal resources.

Built three years ago in Salghari, Mahendranagar, the center remains non-operational as the municipality has yet to establish a proper dumping site. Currently, Bhimdatta, which comprises 19 wards, collects waste only from the market areas of wards 4 and 18 and from households in wards 6, 9, 10, and 11. Sabin Rawal, head of the municipality's Forest, Environment, Waste, and Disaster Management Branch, stated that waste collection from homes and shops is costly and results in revenue losses due to insufficient income.

The municipality had invested approximately Rs 8 million in 2079 BS to construct the center with the aim of improving waste segregation and generating revenue. Additionally, with technical assistance from UNDP, Needs Nepal supplied two pieces of equipment worth around Rs 2 million to facilitate waste segregation in the facility. Following the completion of the micro-sorting center, the municipality also trained 2,000 local residents in Bhimdatta on waste management and distributed compost bins for home use.

Despite these efforts, the center remains unused, highlighting challenges in waste management and resource utilization in the municipality.