Kathmandu, May 16 -- As broken concrete and household waste from recent demolitions of squatter settlements pile up along the Bagmati, Manohara, and Dhobikhola river corridors, public attention has largely focused on displaced families and on where informal settlers will go next. But environmental experts warn another crisis may already be taking shape beneath the rubble itself.

Without proper segregation, recovery and disposal systems, waste management expert Ashish Khanal said the debris generated from the demolitions could trigger "a second crisis," this time an environmental one.

The government has tasked the High-Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilisation with managing the waste and coordinating the ne...