Garbage trucks on their way to the Banchare Danda landfill site were vandalised on Monday night. According to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, 14 tippers carrying garbage parked near the Dhading-Nuwakot borders were vandalised.

According to Sarkardip Shrestha, an official at KMC, two bulldozers, one excavator and 14 tippers were vandalised by an unknown group at around 8:50 pm. The vandalised vehicles belong to private waste management companies. The tippers on their way to the landfill site were parked near the Armed Police camp. The police reached the incident site at around midnight, said police.

On Monday afternoon, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City used force to dump 40 tippers of garbage at the Banchare Danda landfill site. On Tuesday, tipper drivers raised slogans in Sisdol seeking protection of their vehicles from vandals.

Shrestha said the vandalising incident is under investigation. “This is a grave issue. If we don’t sort this out, we will have problems with waste disposal.”

Garbage dumping is a perennial problem faced by the KMC. Frequent disruptions in garbage collection and disposal have put the Valley residents in a fix with the City choked with garbage piles on almost every street corner.

The collection of garbage was halted in the last week of July due to the repair works being done on the road section leading to the landfill site. The City had said garbage collection would resume after the completion of the repair work. But the locals of Sisdole and Banchare Danda have been opposing the dumping of garbage at the landfill sites stating various concerns.

The Banchare Danda Landfill Affected Area Concern Committee said it would not allow waste disposal at the landfill site from August 17 onward.

The residents of Nuwakot and Dhading have also tried to stop the garbage trucks from passing through their areas citing the dust pollution caused by the garbage trucks on their way to the landfill site.