They have been demanding that the government use Balaju Bypass-Tinpiple road as stench from the garbage carriers has been bothering them and increased fear of inviting health hazards.

Sitaram Regmi, coordinator of the Goldhunga Unified Rural Development Society Nepal, said the waste transportation was not systematic and the stench has affected people in the area. “The authorities concerned have been turning a deaf ear to our demand for a long time,” he said, adding that they would not stop the obstruction unless their demand was addressed.

The agitators said they are fed up with government promises to find an alternative route though they have been facing the problem for over a decade now.

Pradeep Amatya, chief at the Solid Waste Management Division at the Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan Office, said the proposed new route has no capacity to hold the load of garbage trucks. “We want to address their demands, but they are not even ready to sit for talks,” he said.

Locals have been saying they will sit for the dialogue only with the concerned ministry officials as the local bodies repeatedly disappointed them.