Suspicions loom large over timely commencement of PRIA

SEPTEMBER 9 : Citing the completion of 98 percent of construction work, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) sometime back announced that the Pokhara Regional International Airport would come into operation on January 1, 2022. However, there is ample space for to raise suspicions over the materialization of the very announcement.  This has to do with the consistent failure to find an alternative to the landfill site located near the airport.

  Garbage and other waste products produced by the dwellers of the Pokhara  Metropolitan  City are being managed at this site situated at Bachchhebaduwa-14 in the city.  

 Project Chief of the PRIA, Binesh Munakarmi, admits that it will be simply tough to commence the facility from the proposed date until and unless the existing dumping site is relocated at the soonest.  “Large movements of birds naturally take place over it in a frequent manner. So, this will pose a grave threat to the safety of the aircraft flying from/to the airport located near the site.”

Also, according to the international regulations on aviation safety, there should be any landfill site within the 12-14 km range of the airport.   The onus of relocating the site at Bachchhebaduwa lies on the PMC office. “ We have been making utmost efforts towards fulfilling the very responsibility.  But, such endeavours are not paying off largely due to the local protests,” the office source claims.  

It was four months back that the PMC office made a plane to manage garbage at Bharatpokari-3 by earmarking Rs 100 million. Nevertheless, the very plan met with the resistance of local people immediately. One year ago, too, the office had made the related legislative body to decide to arrange a landfill site at Pasmarang-the border between Ward No. 16 and 20.  But again the locals protested this decision shortly.

The PMC in recent times has been engaged in foreign visits to find a solution to the problem at hand. For instance,   the technical team led by its Mayor Dhanraj Acharya last week visited various places in India like New Delhi and Gajiyabaad to study the modus operandi applied there to manage waste products. After some days, the very team plans to visit another Indian city of Bangalore for the same.

According to some observers, the PMC must expedite its process to relocate the current landfill if the PRIA is to see the light of the day on the set day i.e January 1, 2022