'Alcohol bottles and other litter collected post-UML rally'

Kathmandu, November 27 — The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has decided to impose a fine of NPR 100,000 on the CPN (UML) for polluting the environment by carelessly littering during an event at Darbar Marg.

The CPN (UML) has opposed the fine, while KMC has insisted that it must be paid under any circumstances. Accordingly, KMC officials visited the party office in Chyasal to deliver the fine notice, but the UML refused to accept it. As a result, KMC sent the fine notice via postal mail, as confirmed by Rajunath Pandey, the Chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police.

Additionally, it was found that KMC has also inquired with the company responsible for waste management in the Darbar Marg area about the condition of the waste collected during the UML event. KMC sent a written inquiry to the Clean Kathmandu Waste Management company, which handles waste management in the area, requesting details on the waste collection the day after the UML program.

In response, the management sent a reply letter on Wednesday, which was confirmed by Sarita Rai, head of the Environmental Management Department of KMC. She said, "We had inquired about this. We received the response today."

According to the letter, waste management workers were deployed from 4 AM on November 23 in the Darbar Marg area as usual. The letter mentions that various items were collected, including paper, plastic, food waste, mineral water bottles, political flags, cigarette butts, plant branches, and 8848-brand alcohol bottles found near the statue of former King Mahendra, as well as scattered beer cans.

The letter further mentions, "Items such as peanut shells, plastic, food remnants, mineral water bottles, political flags, cigarette butts, plant branches, and 8848-brand alcohol bottles found near the statue of former King Mahendra, along with scattered beer cans, were collected."

The waste collection was carried out under the supervision of Golden TV, the Darbar Marg traffic police, and the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police. The letter states, "Our company’s workers used 6.75-ton capacity trucks and collected waste in two trucks, which was then transported to the Banchare landfill site."

The company has also stated that the cleaning work was done under the surveillance of CCTV cameras in the area, and they have maintained accurate records of the nature and condition of the waste.