According to the KMC, more than 2,500 people participated in the cleanup work on the first day of the campaign Saturday. The campaign saw enthusiastic participation of local clubs and schools. But participation by the local residents was disappointing, according to organizers.[break]
“Along with the cleanliness campaign, our main target is to create awareness among locals,” Rabin Man Shrestha, the chief of the Environment Management Division at KMC, said. “These kinds of campaigns will not be fruitful until the locals participate. They should know the importance of the holy rivers.”
According to Shrestha, the cleanliness campaign of the KMC, which is supported by various local clubs, schools and colleges, has cleaned a seven-kilometer stretch of the river extending from Teku to the New Bus Park at Gongabu on the first day.
“Though we had targeted to clean only five kilometers on the first day, we not only met our target but also cleaned two kilometers more. This is a very good start,” said Shrestha. “But what is more important is participation of the locals, only then will the campaign be termed successful in real sense.”
Along with the cleanliness campaign, the KMC has prepared a ´master plan´ for developing the Bishnumati River area. The master plan includes constructing foot trailsm drainage system, and bridge and planting of trees along the banks of the river.
According to the chief of Urban Planning Commission at KMC and Bimal Rijal, the designer of the master plan, the plan was prepared nine months ago but it has not been implemented in the lack of funds. The commission said they need Rs 2 billion for implementing the plan but they still don´t know how to arrange the money.
“For now, we will carry out just the cleanliness campaign,” said Rijal. “On the one hand, we do not have sufficient budget to implement the master plan, and on the other there is no stable government, hence the delay in implementation.”
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