The Dhobi Khola (Rudramati) clean-up campaign has reached 200th week on Saturday. The almost four-year long drive has seen cleaning of ten different sections of the river starting from Budhanilakantha to its edge.  

Workers removed around 30 metric tonnes of solid waste while cleaning 13 kms stretch of the river. Purushottam Kandel said, “The clean-up drive involved around 5,000 volunteers.” 

Kandel is sociologist at High Powered Committee for Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development (HPCBCID) that works under Ministry of Physical Planning. 

The Mega Bagmati Clean-up campaign entered 248th week on Saturday. Volunteers extracted two metric tonnes of garbage from Guheshwori. 

Addressing the concluding session of the campaign, CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal stressed on bringing change in modality of cleaning drive as things have not changed much. “In Nepal, the things that have to be done earlier are done later, and the things that are to be carried out later are carried earlier. This is exactly happening 

to rivers in Nepal,” said Madhav Nepal.  

When M K Nepal was the prime minister of the country in 2009, the ‘Bagmati Action Plan 2009 to 2014’ was unveil. The HPCBCID in collaboration with the National Trust for Nature Conservation had prepared the plan. 

Nepal showed his concern on the lack of implementation of Action Plan and said its needs to be amended. 

“We need integrated plans to make the drive result oriented and sustainable. Local residents should be actively involved in this. Locals should take the responsibility of keeping the river clean,” said Nepal. 

Speaking at the 200th week clean-up event, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi requested everyone to save rivers in the valley as they are connected to Kathmandu Valley’s civilization, culture and heritage sites.

At the event, locals also raised the issue of shrinking river banks of Rudramati.

Ward 10 Chairperson Dal Bahadur Karki said, “Earlier, the river was 105 feet wide, now it has shrunk to 35 feet, with walls on both sides of the river. There should be an integrated plan.”

Hundreds of volunteers cleaned the area from Nailinath to Bhangal and Nikheleshwor to Baluwakhani. Similarly, a group gathered in Kapan’s Nilo Pool cleaned the river belt up to Gopikrishna Bridge. A separate group cleaned the area from Payanhelo Pool to Kalopul. Volunteers also cleaned the area that included Debinagar, Simrik Pool and in the Bagmati confluence - meeting point between Rudramati and Bagmati River).

The Rudramati River clean drive started 48 weeks after Bagmati Cleanup campaign under the initiation of former chief secretary of government Leela Mani Paudyal on May 18, 2013.