AreaRead the video transcript expand here
It stinks in Kathmandu: Garbage piles up on the famous Durbar Square.
The Unesco World Heritage Site is one of numerous places in the capital of Nepal that are littered with growing mountains of waste.
Bhim Bahadur Lama, Resident:
"We're fed up with the garbage. We're getting sick and need to go to the hospital. We shouldn't be forced to live in such a stench."
Maitali Sunuwar, Resident:
"The rubbish only causes problems. The tourists walk past the rubbish and cover their mouths and noses. We also have to spit because it's so bad."
Around a million people live in Kathmandu, a lively city with many important temples and pagodas from the Buddhist and Hindu culture.
The city is located in the Himalayas and is 160 kilometers from Mount Everest.
Accordingly, many mountaineers and tourists come here.
But the view of the sights in Kathmandu is clouded - not only regularly by dense smog, but recently also by the huge mountains of rubbish.
The tourists, who visit Kathmandu in the hundreds of thousands every year, are appalled.
Richard McSorley, British tourist:
"Yesterday I went to Durbar Square. I paid the equivalent of eight dollars to get in. Yes, I know, because of the 2015 earthquake, they are still restoring the square. But I wish I had my cell phone with me. There was such a huge pile Garbage."
Normally, the waste from Kathmandu is disposed of in landfills in the surrounding area.
But that hasn't happened in weeks.
Rural people hinder waste disposal in their neighborhoods.
In early June on a road to the village of Banchare Dada: Hundreds of villagers cut down trees and erected a road barrier.
In this way, they prevent around 200 trucks loaded with waste from Kathmandu from driving to the rubbish dump in the village.
The wagons turn back without having achieved anything.
Only a few weeks ago, the garbage from Kathmandu was taken to the new landfill in Banchare Dada.
The government built the facility after a landfill in the neighboring village was simply full.
The residents of Banchare Dada were already protesting during construction.
They accuse the authorities of not having done enough for the infrastructure in the village and responsible waste disposal.
Since the garbage trucks started rolling, the villagers have been sabotaging the operation of the landfill.
Shree Ram Dhungana, Villagers:
"All the garbage is dumped here near the houses. But they should be two to three kilometers away from the landfill, otherwise we can't stay here. Either we will be resettled or they have to stop dumping garbage here."
The authorities have responded with a heavy hand to the villagers' protests.
After these garbage trucks were damaged by rock throwing, the police drove them from the landfill site.
According to witnesses, three police officers were also injured in the riots.
One thing is certain: Nepal has a garbage problem.
Nearly half of the waste generated in the counties ends up in landfills across the country, according to a 2020 government survey. About a third is incinerated, with the rest being disposed of in or along rivers.
And this despite the fact that more than half of the waste would be biodegradable.
However, composting has not yet been done on a large scale in the country.
The situation in Kathmandu is now to be eased by an agreement between the environmental authority and local village representatives.
The city has announced that it will separate organic waste from other waste in the future.
She also wants to build roads in the affected villages and repair a river bank reinforcement.
Tree planting and extended health insurance should benefit nature and people.
However, the measures should only begin in the next financial year.
On the other hand, there are no plans to make waste disposal in Kathmandu sustainable.
