Pokhara, May 22
Heavy rainfall on Thursday evening flooded major roads in Pokhara, sweeping piles of uncollected garbage across the city and leaving streets foul-smelling and littered by Friday morning.
Areas including New Road, Mahendrapul, Prithvichowk, Sabhagriha and Lakeside were inundated after drainage systems failed to handle the volume of rainwater flowing through the city’s sloped terrain. Along with floodwater, garbage bags scattered across roads, worsening sanitation conditions in the tourist city.
According to the Pokhara Metropolitan City’s Waste Management Section, garbage collection had been halted for two days after locals at the dumping site in Pokhara-21 objected to waste disposal due to increasing foul odour. Waste Management Chief Prabhat Lamichhane said residents had begun throwing garbage directly onto roads after collection services stopped.
Officials said excavation work at the temporary disposal site was also disrupted after an excavator got stuck and later malfunctioned.
The incident has once again highlighted Pokhara’s long-standing waste management crisis. The metropolis has struggled to find a permanent landfill site after the previous disposal area at Lameahal in Pokhara-32 reached capacity.
Meanwhile, a planned waste processing centre in Pokhara-33 has remained stalled amid local protests, land disputes and allegations of financial irregularities.
