The city bus parking premise, located in the core area of the capital, is grappling with unmanaged waste. According to the Thimphu Thromde, people’s littering habits and lack of cooperation in managing waste are contributing to the issue. The Thromde Office is now planning to install CCTVs in the area soon to address the issue.
From leaking sewage to used diapers and cigarette butts lying around, the area has become a place of stench and is almost turning into a dump yard to throw away their waste.
Leki Penjor, a taxi driver said, “The city bus parking area is supposed to be clean since it is a place where a lot of people commute and interact. We are not aware if the area is at all cleaned. When it comes to the taxi parking area, we clean it every morning on our own.”
“If the area is kept clean with wastes properly managed, people will appreciate it. Not only the public but also officials, and even His Majesty The King, often visit the area, but it is currently heavily littered,” said Panchaman Tamang, a resident of Thimphu.
Namgay, also a resident of Thimphu said, “As the area is in the capital city, it is supposed to be kept clean. However, people can be seen spitting Doma juice everywhere. While I also chew Doma, I make sure not to spit the juice wherever I like. If kept uncleaned and unmanaged, it will leave a bad impression on the foreigners.”
The Thimphu Thromde says the office did not receive any written complaints regarding the issue.
According to the Thromde, the area is being cleaned twice a week adding that the office also deploys people to pick up trash on other days. To reduce the waste issue in the area, the Thromde Office says they initially installed 4 dustbins last year. However, as the dustbins got damaged repeatedly, they had to stop installing the dustbins.
The Thromde Office says it is currently in the process of procuring CCTVs to be installed soon. The office plans to penalise waste defaulters caught on the CCTV cameras.
According to the Waste Management and Prevention Regulation 2012, a person failing to clean an area after organising an event will be fined Nu 5,000. Likewise, people caught smearing lime and spitting doma in public places will be fined Nu 100. In addition, people found littering in any public place are fined Nu 100.
Tashi Dekar/Interns (Pema Yangki/Pema Seldon)
Edited by Phub Gyem
