Bagmati Cleanup Campaign Reaches Week 657

KATHMANDU – The Bagmati River Mega Cleanup Campaign marked its 657th consecutive week this Saturday, a sustained citizen-led movement that began on May 19, 2013, under the leadership of former Chief Secretary Leelamani Paudyal. This week, volunteers removed an estimated two metric tons of degradable and non-degradable waste from the Gokarneshwor section of the river.

Over the past 12 years, the campaign has achieved monumental scale, with more than 20,000 metric tons of waste removed from the riverbanks. Public participation has been unprecedented, with over 1.5 million (15 lakh) people contributing to the clean-up efforts, and more than 6,000 trees planted along the corridor.

The environmental transformation is notable. Twelve years ago, the river’s water was black, the smell was unbearable, and solid waste and plastic clogged the channel. Today, officials report measurable but limited improvement in water quality. The overpowering stench has been largely eliminated in central stretches, and in some less polluted streams, there are early reports of small fish and insects returning, signaling tentative ecological recovery. ” The continuous efforts and hardwork has shown its results in terms of odor but we also have long way to go for more better results” said by participants in Campaign

However, major challenges threaten long-term progress. Organizers and environmental experts cite the critical lack of sufficient wastewater treatment plants, meaning intercepted sewage is often not fully purified. Furthermore, highly polluted tributaries continue to dump contaminated water into the main river, undermining cleanup efforts.

Proposed solutions center on completing integrated sewage treatment infrastructure, enforcing pollution laws on industries, and launching coordinated cleanup campaigns for the Bagmati’s feeder rivers. The milestone of Week 657 underscores a journey of significant public achievement that now must address systemic hurdles to ensure the river’s full restoration.