We’ve heard about the river cleaning project for a while. But who is working on it? And how far have they reached?
There are thousands of organizations in Kathmandu that address matters ranging from street children to HIV prevention. People are working to make sure that integral affairs do not go unnoticed, let alone unaddressed. There are emerging issues and then there are issues that have developed over generations. I first came across the Bagmati Cleaning Project when I got a text from Nepal Telecom inviting me to the event. There had been quite a buzz about the project so I wanted to see what it was all about.
Bagmati Cleaning Project- The Concept
“Bagmati cleaning is a purely social initiative of organizations that are trying to present an exemplary method of making Kathmandu a better place,” says LP Bhanu Sharma, Chairperson of Jeevan Vigyan Kendra and Principal of Apex College in Kathmandu. He is one of the main individuals behind this idea of including corporate, spiritual and social organizations to work for a social cause.
The concept was generated six months earlier when the five main organizations sat down and realized that Bagmati cleaning was a major project that had to be taken over by the citizens themselves. “There are more than 140 groups claiming to work for the Bagmati Cleaning Project. We have associations and the government itself talks about the projects. But it has been decades and the situation isn’t getting any better. It is therefore time to take matters into our own hands. We want to set an example of how changes can be made when citizens unite,” says Sharma.
The Bagmati cleaning project was initiated 26 weeks ago for this purpose. More than 7000 people showed up in the first week and the turnout has been overwhelming ever since. People gather every Saturday at 7:30 am to clean a portion of the river. There is a plan, an objective and the entire process has a goal. It is a project in every respect.
“We wanted to make sure there were no cash donations so that there would be no accusations of misuse. We were clear about two things. First, we did not want any cash involved. Contributions would have to be made in forms other than money. Secondly, we wanted people to own the project which is why we do not have a coordinator or a head,” he explains.
There are thousands of organizations in Kathmandu that address matters ranging from street children to HIV prevention. People are working to make sure that integral affairs do not go unnoticed, let alone unaddressed. There are emerging issues and then there are issues that have developed over generations. I first came across the Bagmati Cleaning Project when I got a text from Nepal Telecom inviting me to the event. There had been quite a buzz about the project so I wanted to see what it was all about.
Bagmati Cleaning Project- The Concept
The concept was generated six months earlier when the five main organizations sat down and realized that Bagmati cleaning was a major project that had to be taken over by the citizens themselves. “There are more than 140 groups claiming to work for the Bagmati Cleaning Project. We have associations and the government itself talks about the projects. But it has been decades and the situation isn’t getting any better. It is therefore time to take matters into our own hands. We want to set an example of how changes can be made when citizens unite,” says Sharma.
The Bagmati cleaning project was initiated 26 weeks ago for this purpose. More than 7000 people showed up in the first week and the turnout has been overwhelming ever since. People gather every Saturday at 7:30 am to clean a portion of the river. There is a plan, an objective and the entire process has a goal. It is a project in every respect.
“We wanted to make sure there were no cash donations so that there would be no accusations of misuse. We were clear about two things. First, we did not want any cash involved. Contributions would have to be made in forms other than money. Secondly, we wanted people to own the project which is why we do not have a coordinator or a head,” he explains.
