E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, JUN 18 -

Various government and non-government partners on Friday held a meeting with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan Water Agency (JWA) to discuss on possible financial and technical assistance for the implementation of Bagmati Action Plan (BAP).

The joint team of ADB and JWA had requested the concerned government and non-government organisations in Nepal for proposals on Purposed Programmes for Technical Assistant (PPTA) for BAP, a project under the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and endorsed by the government.

With a view to conserving the river and its tributaries in an integrated manner, the government came up with the Rs 15-billion five-year BAP envisaged to be completed by 2015.

Siddhartha Bajracharya, executive officer at NTNC said, the meeting was focused on discussions regarding the works on restoration and conservation of river ecosystem including replenishment of water resources.

The meeting was attended by the representatives from Water and Energy Secretariat, Department of Water Induced Disaster Preparedness, High Powered Committee for the Integrated Development, Department of Irrigation and NTNC, among others.

The concerned agencies floated proposals worth around US $ 50 million including the ones ranging from restoration of tributaries, solid waste management around the Bagmati river and its tributaries, plantation and wastewater treatment, Bajracharya said.

The ADB-JWA team expressed interests to restore and conserve Bagmati, said a participant requesting anonymity. “Though different agencies working in BAP proposed for fund of over US $ 50 million, the joint team seems positive to provide fund between US $ 30 and 40 million,” the source said.

Meanwhile, NTNC floated a proposal on ‘Conservation and Improvement of the Water Sources in Kathmandu Valley’ at the meeting. Of the 100-km stretch of the Bagmati river within Nepal, BAP incorporates around 43 km from Baghdwar to Pharping.

Around 31 organisations have been working on Bagmati conservation, particularly in the sectors of awareness, plantation and clean-ups, but there has been no headway in addressing issues like pollution, encroachment and water shortage and deterioration of cultural heritage.

Posted on: 2011-06-18 08:43

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