KATHMANDU May 14: Litterers who threw their waste on riverbank were fined on the spot during the Bagmati clean-up campaign with the slogan “Two hours of weekly volunteering for the nation.”

Campaign member Chakra Bahadur Chand shared that Laxminarayan Sharma and Himalayan Builders have been fined Rs 10,000 each for throwing garbage on the riverbank under the Sinamangal bridge during the awareness program organized by the Bagmati Cleanup Campaign which happens every Saturday morning. 

Kathmandu Metropolitan City will now begin fining those who are adding to the river’s polluted state in order to punish and discourage such acts. 

The campaign has made a request to KMC Mayor Balendra Shah, asking that city police or staff be sent with the receipts of the penalties every week. The campaign has committed to assisting the city itself and the other municipalities of the Kathmandu Valley with sustainable waste management. 

Since May 22, 2013, the clean-up campaign has operated every Saturday morning for two hours. Yesterday (Saturday), in the 522nd week of the campaign, former chief secretary Leelamani Paudel, Chairman Uddhav Prasad Timalsina of the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization were working along with other campaigners. Three metric tons of waste has been removed. The campaign will continue next Saturday morning in the same spot. 

Similarly, in the 470th week of the Bishnumati Cleanup Campaign, the Mansingh Secondary School was cleaned. Campaigner Shobhakant Pandey shared that a tractorfull of non-biodegradable waste was cleared from the grounds. 

The Bagmati Clean-up Campaign has influenced the establishment of many other similar programs for different rivers, public areas and culturally significant locations in the Kathmandu Valley. Campaigner Ram Shah shared that although the Rudramati River is also being cleaned, the Seto Bridge area is very polluted as a result of sewage disposal. 

It was shared that numerous places above Guheshwari like Bagmati, Manohara, Rudramati, Lalitpur’s Godawari River and Ring Road's western and northern areas are being cleaned. Although these clean-up campaigns are being carried out in a great many locations, they have been criticized for the lack of concrete achievement. 

 
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