All out efforts to revive lost glory of Bagmati
It might seem like a distant story now, but just a few decades ago, Bagmati, the largest river of Kathmandu Valley, used to boast crystal clear water. What used to be a pristine river—not to mention a major source of drinking water for residents of Kathmandu—is now nothing more than an open sewer.
The unprecedented growth of urban population and rampant developmental activities in the city has eroded the charm of the 35.5-kilometre river, decreasing its cultural, historical and natural significance. Bagmati—which has 57 tributaries—originates from Bagdwar in the Shivapuri hill and bifurcating the Valley.
Though the river is currently polluted almost to the point of saturation, efforts are being made to restore to its former glory by concerned organisations, government authorities and local people, who are working not only to prime Bagmati for a massive cleanup, but also to revive the riverfronts through various projects, awareness campaigns, recreational activities and social mobilisation.
A successful example was the cleanup of the five-kilometre stretch of the river starting from Sundarijal to Gokarna, located on the northern side of Kathmandu. According to the five-year Bagmati Action Plan (BAP) launched by the government in 2010, an 18-month-long-project was then scheduled to clean the river from Gokarna to Tilganga. The major objective of the project, which is under the management of High Power Committee for Integrated Development for the Bagmati Civilisation (HPCIDBC), is to build a green belt alongside the river, manage drainage system, and collect water for the river through rainwater harvesting.
According to Siddhartha Bajracharya, executive director of National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and project coordinator of of BAP, that particular stretch has been restored in line with the standards of National Survey and Measurement Act 1962, and now maintains a river width of 20 meters.
Meanwhile, river training work—along with a number of projects for beautification—has been planned for the area. Bajracharya says that though many communities lost their farmlands during the cleanup, no single complaint was filed by the local people.
The planning process was formulated by NTNC, while the Bagmati office in Guheswori implemented the project. The Nepal Army was awarded the contract. The project is going to run with the aid of Army from Sundarijal to Gokarna in its early stages, before moving on to the section between Tilganga and Minbhawan.
Mahesh Bahadur Basnet, president of HPCIDBC, says the Bagmati cleanup plan restricts the sales of lands within 20 meters on either side of Bagmati, Nakkhu, and Manohara rivers.
Further targets for this fiscal year include drawing up conservation plans for the Bagmati’s source area and its tributaries, initiating construction of sewage treatment plants, and organising awareness and tree plantation programmes, among others. Basnet says various recreational activities, construction of green belts, boating, establishment of walking trails, parks and picnic spots are planned under the BAP, launched with the support of the government and concerned stakeholders at an estimated cost of Rs 16 billion.
“Though the revival of the entire Bagmati river system is still a far cry, we hope to reconnect city and its people with the river system in near future,” says Bajracharya. “We want to show people that there is still much life to be seen on the river.”
Under the BAP, the Valley is divided into five different zones—Natural Conservation Core Zone I (the surrounding mountain ranges), Rural Zone II (outermost areas), Peri-urban Zone III (areas lying between the rural and urban core), Urban Zone IV (five municipalities of the Valley), and Downstream Zone V (from Sundarighat to Katuwal Daha).
The plan states that Bagmati is suffering due to decline in water discharge, degradation of river water quality, degradation of catchment quality, narrowing and deepening of waterways and depletion of aquatic biodiversity.
In a testament to Bagmati’s increasing significance in Valley, more than 100 organisations can be found working on their own to revive the original state of the river by launching various programmes, and campaigns. Billons of rupees have been already invested and are being spent to restore the river, but still there are three key issues that need to be overcome: Integrating conventional planning with ecosystem management; demand management, payment for services and incentives for conservation; and enforcement, coordination and stakeholder participation. All these should be dealt with properly if Bagmati is to be given back its sense of purity, says Bajracharya.
Posted on: 2011-09-05 07:40
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