By incorporating cultural, ecological and other dimensions, the plan has intricately dissected the quality of Bagmati water and level of pollution by dividing Bagmati stretch into zones. [break]
It has determined that zone I and II are least polluted, zone III as the stretch with an average level of pollution and zone IV and V as the most polluted. Zone IV and V include the stretch between Pashupati and Teku Dobhan.
The plan has said that Bagmati is suffering due to decrease in water discharge, degradation of river water quality, degradation of catchment quality, narrowing and deepening of water way and depletion of aquatic biodiversity.
The plan has identified three key challenges -- integrating conventional planning with ecosystem management; demand management, payment for services and incentives for conservation; and enforcement, coordination and stakeholder participation.
“Most problems emanate in the dry season. So if we focus on effective use of treatment at this time things will be much better,” Dr Siddhartha B Bajracharya, the project head of Bagmati Action Plan said.
India wants to send its technical team to start the Bagmati Civilization Project. Bagmati treatment plan will also be a pilot project for India´s own plan to process Ganga River. -- NTNC official.
He also added that focus must also be on removing squatters´ settlement from Bagmati bank, stopping municipality and carpet industries from dumping wastes into the river and putting an immediate ban on sand extraction from the river.
“Law enforcement is the key in reducing water pollution in Bagmati. At the same time, recreational activities like boating and renovation of cultural sites should be encouraged,” Bajracharya stressed.
He informed that besides the government´s participation, the World Bank and Asia Development Bank would be approached for financial support for the project.
Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has expressed the government´s commitment toward saving Bagmati. He has directed the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) to immediately look at the implementation aspect of proposed plan.
The NTNC officials have also pointed at the possibility of implementing the proposal with Indian assistance. During PM Nepal´s India visit the two countries included Bagmati Civilization Project in the joint-statement following which a technical team from India visited Nepal for initial study of Bagmati river.
“India wants to send its technical team here to start the project. Bagmati treatment plan will also be a pilot project for India´s own plan to process Ganga River,” an NTNC official said.
The Bagmati Plan has been developed by the government in coordination with NTNC, UNEP and UN-HABITAT.
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