The increase in consumption of bottled water in Pokhara has created a problem of proper disposal of pet bottles. Thousands of litres of bottled mineral water is consumed everyday in the Pokhara valley and as many as 120,000 cheap quality plastic bottles, which are not recyclable or reusable, are disposed in an unsafe manner in a month. This results in pollution of the picturesque valley. Rag pickers don?t pick them up because they do not have any resale value. Ex-chairman of the Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ananda Raj Mulmi says that the government is not using the tax collected from the industries for environment conservation.

Source: The Himalayan Times, 10 Jun 2004

Tags: sanitation