The World Conservation Union in Nepalhas warned that the country's most sacred river, the Bagmati, is in danger of
being destroyed by pollution.
The Union's senior representative in Kathmandu,
TB Shrestra, says the river is being used as a repository for sewage and
garbage by the growing population of the Kathmanduvalley.
The Bagmati was once used by thousands of Nepalese for
recreational and religious purposes. Celebrated in music, poetry and literature
it is often referred to as the Ganges of Nepal.
Holy site
Over the ages Nepalese monarchs have been cremated on its
banks. In April, the pollution of the river was brought to public attention
with the funeral ceremony of Opposition Leader Man Mohan Adhikary.
His body was cremated alongside the Bagmati, which
environmentalists say is little more than a sewer. TB Shrestra of the World
Conservation Union explained how the river had shrunk.
"The volume of the water has reduced to such an extent
that that the river is no longer the big river that it used to be," he
said.
"Most of the waters are tapped by the increasing number
of factories, especially carpet factories and households. So most of the water
is tapped before it reaches here," he added.
Garbage dump
Mr Shrestra said the state of the river at the time of Mr
Adhikary's funeral was a national disgrace, especially because the opposition
leader was one of Nepal's
most respected and widely known politicians.
"Household garbage...comes from shops and houses and
its brought here in plastic bags and thrown here," he said.
The Bagmati is a huge rubbish dump effectively, crawling
with flies and rubbish. "The water is jet black. It's almost a dead river;
it's not only dead - it's dead at the same time as being rotten," Mr
Shrestra said.
The demise of the Bagmati has been swift. Middle aged men
such as Keshab Poudel live close to its banks in Kathmanduand can remember when the revered river was clean.
"When I was a child we used to swim in the river, but
right now it's like a sewer. I cannot believe that. It's a national tragedy
because this is our holy river," Mr Poudel said.
"From birth to death it's a link with our life, but
today people don't like to be cremated near the riverside which used to be so
holy."
Battle to clean up
The scale of the problem is recognised by the Nepalese
culture minister, Shaphalya Amatya.
"The situation is so critical that its very difficult
for the government or any other agency to change the situation at Bagmati at
once," he said.
Mr Amatya said the government was building sewage channels
in sections of the river. He said once the sewage was separated, a major battle
in the war to clean up the river will have been won.
Cash crunch
But all that is too little, too late for Nepalese political
commentator, Karnak Dixit.
"Even though we all realise that the Bagmati - where we
will all be cremated at some point - has turned into a sewer it is nevertheless
a sociological phenomenon that the public while realising it, is not been able
to do anything about," he said.
"The second problem is not sociological, but purely
economic. There's a sort of determinism about it. If you are well to do enough,
you start thinking about the environment.
"If not you will really suffer all kinds of
indignities, including the indignity of your very holy river turning to
essentially a carrier of excreta.
"And you still live with it, you just turn your nose
up, but you suffer it. If the Bagmati is to be cleaned up, it looks as if most
of the money will have to come from overseas donors.
"Nepalis one of the poorest countries in the world and doesn't have the money to
tackle other key environmental issues such as pollution and deforestation in
the Himalayas. If money from abroad isn't forthcoming,
it looks as if the Bagmati will remain sacred in name only," he added.
