Jhapa, 17 February: The human excreta waste treatment center built in Mechinagar-14 with a grant of Rs 78.1 million 5,585 from the Gates Foundation, a charitable organization established by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has become unused.
The foundation, through the Asian Development Bank, had provided the grant five years ago to process human excreta sludge from three local levels of Jhapa – Mechinagar, Birtamod and Buddhashanti – into organic fertilizer. The processing center was built at a total cost of Rs. 91.888 million, 923 million, by adding Rs. 13.783 million, 338 million to the grant received from the donor as an investment partnership.
The center, which was established with the goal of donor funding and joint partnership with the local level, has not achieved any achievements in the five years of operation. Most of the structures and equipment, including unused equipment, have become useless. The processing center, which was handed over to the Third Small Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector by the Asian Development Bank, has been maintained and operated by the Charali Small Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Consumers’ Organization.
The center’s goal was to produce organic fertilizer after processing human excreta collected from three local levels. Even a test of organic fertilizer production could not be conducted from the center in a five-year period. Organization chairman Rajan Chimaria said that the center has not become result-oriented due to the lack of necessary fecal sludge, skilled technical manpower and operational resources for processing.
“One hundred and fifty tankers of sludge are required per month for processing,” he said, “but more than 18 to 30 tankers of sludge have never been collected per month. Since private tankers dump it into rivers and forests, adequate sludge collection has not been possible here.”
Chairman Chimaria informed that the garbage brought by private tankers is charged Rs 500 per tanker and if the center’s own tanker has to transport it from the homes of locals, a fee of Rs 3,000 is charged. He said, “Private tankers have been dumping garbage in rivers and forests to avoid paying Rs 500.”
Of the 28 tanks built for sludge processing at the center, 14 have not been filled in five years. The remaining 14 tanks are empty, while the state-of-the-art laboratory established for chemical and biological testing of sludge, water, and organic fertilizers has not been operational.
The organization’s secretary, Premraj Ghimire, said that the laboratory has not been put into use due to lack of technical manpower and is overseeing the center at an annual loss of Rs. 300,000. “The donor has built the structure, but skilled manpower and operational resources have not been arranged,” said Secretary Ghimire. “The consumer organization has arranged for one tanker driver and one assistant driver. We believe that it should be operated on a new partnership model between the government and the private sector.”
The donor has provided the organization with a tanker for transporting fecal sludge, and has constructed a two-story concrete building for office purposes, a laboratory building, dozens of processing technology structures, and a well-organized concrete shed for storing and drying the produced organic fertilizer.
Monitoring by donor team
The Charali Excreta Waste Treatment Center, which has not been put into operation, was monitored on Sunday by a team from the Koshi Provincial Government and a British donor agency. The monitoring team was led by Lisa Ruze, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Advisor at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on behalf of the donor agency, and Krishna Prasad Rajbanshi, Head of the Water Supply and Sanitation Division, on behalf of the Koshi Provincial Government.
The monitoring team was briefed by Rajan Chimaria, president of Charali Small Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Consumers’ Organization, former president Lal Bahadur Thebe, and secretary Prem Ghimire about the center’s condition, problems, and the resources and equipment required for its operation.
Chairman Chimaria said that the monitoring team’s attention has been drawn to the need for immediate laboratory technicians, maintenance of equipment, an additional tanker, additional manpower, and a legal provision that prohibits private tankers from dumping fecal matter in rivers and forests to make effective use of the structure.
