Medical waste dumped along with other garbage has posed serious public health threats to people living on the banks of the Tinau river in Rupandehi. Butwal Sub-metropolis dis-poses around 50 tonnes of gar-bage on the river banks though people continue to use water from the river for drink-ing and other domestic use.
Bheshraj Khanal, a farmer at Aanandaban, said they are facing problems as the water from river used for irrigation is polluted with medical and other waste.Health professionals say around 80 percent of medical waste is dangerous. Such waste materials have chances to transmit 70 percent of diseases. Human or animal blood as well as body parts, blood-soaked bandages, dis-carded surgical gloves, cul-tures and swabs to inoculate cultures are found in the river.
Bheshraj Khanal, a farmer at Aanandaban, said they are facing problems as the water from river used for irrigation is polluted with medical and other waste.Health professionals say around 80 percent of medical waste is dangerous. Such waste materials have chances to transmit 70 percent of diseases. Human or animal blood as well as body parts, blood-soaked bandages, dis-carded surgical gloves, cul-tures and swabs to inoculate cultures are found in the river.
The Ministry of Health and Population has directed con-cerned authorities to manage medical waste through a scientific procedure involving segregation, collection, trans-portation, treatment and final disposal.However, health facilities in the district are yet to abide by the government regulation.
There are around 100 clinics, 20 hospitals and health posts in the district. Bishnu Khanal, a senior offi-cial at the sub-metropolis, said hospitals and clinics are not allowed to dispose medical waste with other garbage.Lumbini Zonal Hospital, meanwhile, burns its medical waste in an open area, affecting locals in the sur-rounding area.