Jul 11, Kathmandu - The Bhagmati River Clean-up Campaign, launched under the slogan “Two Hours of Weekly Volunteer Service for the Nation,” has entered its 687th week of continuous efforts.

On this occasion, volunteers cleaned a section of the riverbank in Sinamangal, Ward No. 9 and 31 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, near Baneshwor Campus, and managed two metric tons of waste.

Dr. Mala Kharel, an organizer of the campaign, informed RSS that the collected biodegradable waste was stored in trucks of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Environment Department and that the non-biodegradable waste was used as manure for the plants along the riverbank.

The clean-up was actively participated in by local government representatives, Bhagmati Clean-up campaign volunteers, employees of the Bhagmati Integrated Development Committee, and local residents from the Gairigaun-Baneshwor Campus areas. During the event, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward No. 9 member Teka Raj Adhikari planted papaya and avocado saplings along the riverbank.

In celebration of his birthday on Friday, campaign volunteer Kishor Singh Shahi shared that papaya saplings were also planted along the Bhagmati Riverbank in honor of Narayan Kumar Shrestha, a fellow campaign volunteer.

The Bhagmati Clean-up Campaign was initiated on Jestha 5, 2070 BS, and since then, volunteers have been cleaning the riverbank every Saturday morning for over a decade.

This ongoing campaign has persisted despite adverse conditions such as winter, summer, monsoon, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of festivals or holidays, campaign volunteers remain committed to keeping the Bhagmati River clean.