Taylor Sienkiewicz . Many Nepalis know that the Bagmati River was once a rich hub of Hindu worship, culture and traditions. Every morning, people were dancing, bathing in the river, and giving offerings to the river goddess. The Bagmati was a place of abundance and prosperity. To a Westerner like myself, this picture of the Bagmati sounds like heaven on Earth.
Now when you visit the river, it is littered with plastic and garbage. Temples are crumbling and sacred sites have been abandoned. The river is guzzling with an overflow of sewage. The culture and tradition that was once intertwined with the Bagmati seems to be a thing of the past.
The headlines of newspapers over the last few years say things like, “River gets polluted yet again,” and “No reduction in plastic litter in Bagmati,” as people seem to be losing hope. Luckily for the Bagmati and the people of Kathmandu valley, this type of thing has happened before—and such pollution has been eradicated. Learning about the Bagmati, I am reminded of a time in my country, the United States, when river pollution was even more widespread.
During the Industrial Revolution, large-scale pollution took place in the rivers of American cities. Huge populations swarmed to urban industrial centers, creating more and more sewage and waste without a proper method of disposal.
In 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire because the water was so contaminated with industrial waste. This was a wake-up-call for Americans and prompted an environmental conservation movement. The government passed the Clean Water Act and created the Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, there was a gradual end to excessive pollution and unregulated dumping in the waters.
The pollution issues of the United States during the time of the Industrial Revolution stem from the same sources we see at the Bagmati: industrial development and increasing urban population. As we have seen in the United States and other countries, it is possible to revitalize these rivers through clean-up and conservation efforts.
One group of people that is trying to bring back the beauty and importance of the Bagmati River is the Bagmati Clean-Up Crew.
The group has been meeting every weekend since 2012. Volunteer Pabitra Bhattarai comes every weekend to pitch in. “Sanitation is the most important thing,” Bhattarai said in reference to the importance of the group’s efforts. “For the health also, it is very important, and for the reputation of the country.”
People of all castes and professions can be found collecting trash at the Bagmati. Professor Ram Sah from Hims College recalls observing the efforts, but being hesitant to get involved. What he saw when he did attend the clean-up, however, changed his mind.
“What I saw were not only local people, but the chief secretary and other leaders coming here to join hands for the cleaning the river. That encouraged me. I thought, ‘why not me?’ I am part of this society,” said Sah.
As for government intervention, the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization (HPCIDBC) is working to clean the Bagmati River. The committee’s goal is to prevent “the direct discharge of solid and liquid wastes to the river and to conserve the river system within the Kathmandu.”
In order to handle sewage and wastewater, the government committee is constructing sewer pipelines to divert wastes from the river. Once these wastes are diverted, they reach a wastewater treatment plant, and are then redirected to the river.
Ashish Ghimire, Project Manager of the HPCIDBC, explained the system of pipelines being built by the committee that will divert river water into wastewater treatment plants. “From that, we’ll get the treated wastewater disposal into the river. So that way, we are trying to clean the Bagmati River,” said Ghimire.
Another major problem contributing to pollution of the Bagmati is solid waste disposal into the river. “You can see the solid waste along the riverside, mostly in the river, due to lack of proper solid waste management system in Kathmandu valley,” said Ghimire.
The committee works with the municipality sites in Kathmandu Valley so that the waste can be diverted from the river. They are working to create a better system of collection, transport and disposal of solid waste.
“For solid waste management, we are supporting an awareness campaign. We provide bins for the households,” Ghirmire said.
This way, individuals can better manage their own waste disposal as bins are provided for waste sorting—or recycling—and disposal. Working directly with the Kathmandu citizens also builds public awareness of the issue of waste at hand and the government efforts to enact change.
The committee is also creating a “green belt”, a system of trees and other plants that will be planted along the riverbanks, alongside a pedestrian walkway as part of a beautification objective.
Restoration of the Bagmati will be most effective if there is cooperation among authority figures as well as the local population in Kathmandu. A combination of new regulations as well as the conscious public effort to end pollution of the river would bring back the heritage of Bagmati River as a confluence of culture and religion it once was. An unwavering dedication to this issue from all sides, the Bagmati River could blossom again
Taylor Sienkiewicz is an American journalist currently working for Internship Nepal.
