The Pashupatinath Temple, a sacred place of worship for Hindu devotees and a world heritage site, shares a similar sorrow. It is getting more polluted by the day. Crumpled leaf plates and offerings remain scattered across the floor, while monkeys and stray dogs poke and sniff around for anything edible. If the condition of the river Bagmati is poor, Pashupatinath is in worse shape. The awful present state of the holy grounds and its periphery mock its highly reputed titles.

Natural heritages are the creation of god and gifts of mother earth. We are fortunate that our country, Nepal, possesses unique natural gifts such as the  majestic snow-crowned Himalayas and numerous perennial rivers that many countries lack. However, we are being ignorant about their importance.

While crying harsh for development and transformation, we have forgotten the meaning of sustainability  and have blindly depleted and polluted our natural resources such as land and water. We are careless when it comes to preserving these resources for the future generation. We ignore the environment around us and knowingly pollute it, despite knowing the fact that ultimately we are the ones who suffer. We pray to god for good health and better life at temples while continuing to poison those places.

We study about these natural and cultural heritages in our school curriculums. We delve into and dream about a utopian society free from pollution. Yet, we are the species to blame. We are the ones who contribute most to the pollution. We seldom give a second thought before shoving drainage pipes into streams and rivulets. We spit anywhere we like and throw plastic wrappers wherever we deem suitable.  

 Aaryaghat at the Pashupatinath Temple also serves as a crematorium. After the funeral pyre lulls down, all the things brought for the ritual are swept across the platform and dumped into Bagmati along with the ashes of the dead. Many years ago, this may have been a plausible option as the river was much cleaner. But now, it needs to be stopped.

 Can we preserve our environment while preserving and continuing our rites and rituals? Can Bagmati be cleaned? We need to think about these questions right now. The river used to thrive with fishes. Now, not a single healthy one swims in its oxygen deprived waters. I don’t think any fish would ever survive in such river. The increasing pollution of rivers, including Bagmati, is not only jeopardising our health but also eliminating the water species one by one.

The Bagmati River and Pashupathinath Temple have wounds which will take decades to heal. It’s a grievous matter that requires urgent public attention. If we don’t know how to solve the problem, then at least we stop worsening the situation.

But then, I believe that if we are serious enough, then the lost glory of the Bagmati River and the Pashupatinath Temple can be regained once again.

Sapkota is an A-levels student at Budhanilkantha School