SOLID waste is piling up in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. Entrepreneurs whose businesses are based on tourism say the country will lose tourists -- its major foreign exchange earner -- if the situation does not improve soon. Garbage disposal has been a problem since erstwhile West Germany, which had earlier taken on the task, handed it back to Nepal in July this year.
Under an agreement signed more than a decade ago, the Germans had helped establish a system to collect and dispose of garbage. In the past, most solid wastes were biodegradable and used as manure. But of late, the waste is no longer biodegradable. To add to the problems, a compost plant on the banks of the Bishnumati river has been closed, after residents of the rapidly expanding colonies nearby protested against the foul smell.
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