Nepal’s most sacred river is also its most polluted. In the capital, Kathmandu, raw sewage is dumped directly into the Bagmati River, and heaps of garbage are tossed in from
KATHMANDU, Nepal — High on a mountain in the Himalayas, pristine drops fall from the mouth of a tiger statue installed at a stream thought to form the headwaters of the Bagmati River, long revered as having the power to purify souls. From there it wends its way downhill past verdant forests and merges with other waterways, irrigating fields of rice, vegetables and other crops that are a livelihood for many Nepalese.
Hindus flock to the riverbanks in Kathmandu to worship at shrines and celebrate festivals. Women dip in the river to wash away sins during Rishipanchami, a day for worship of the seven sages revered as enlightened beings guiding humanity through the ages. Visitors also wade in during the festival of Chhath, praying to the sun god Surya. During Teej, married women come to pray for the health and prosperity of their husbands, and single women, to find a good one.
Close 1 of 23 Men perform rituals on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Hindus flock to the Bagmati to worship at shrines and celebrate festivals. Women dip in the river to wash away sins during Rishipanchami, a day for worship of the seven sages revered as enlightened beings guiding humanity through the ages. Visitors also wade in during the festival of Chhath, praying to the sun god Surya.
A worker walks through the Guheswori Wastewater Treatment Plant, where some of the water from the Bagmati River water is treated before it reaches the Pashupatinath Temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, June 3, 2022. The Bagmati River approaches Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Tainted by garbage and raw sewage that is dumped directly into the waterway, Nepal’s holiest river has deteriorated so greatly that today it is also the country’s most polluted, dramatically altering how the city of about 3 million interacts with the Bagmati on daily, cultural and spiritual levels.
Mithu Lama, 59, rests near her house on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Born and raised next to the Bagmati, Lama recalls using its waters for cooking, bathing, washing and even drinking. Today that feels like a long-ago dream dashed by decades of dumping human waste and refuse, and one she doesn’t expect to see again anytime soon.
Garbage sits on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Mala Kharel, an executive member of a governmental committee set up to help clean up the river, said that over the years the campaign has succeeded in collecting about 80% of garbage along the riverbank. But the pickup efforts admittedly fall short, in part since frequent disruptions to trash collection services encourage more dumping than they can keep up with.
A worker walks through the Guheswori Wastewater Treatment Plant, where some of the water from the Bagmati River water is treated before it reaches the Pashupatinath Temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, June 3, 2022. The Bagmati River approaches Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Tainted by garbage and raw sewage that is dumped directly into the waterway, Nepal’s holiest river has deteriorated so greatly that today it is also the country’s most polluted, dramatically altering how the city of about 3 million interacts with the Bagmati on daily, cultural and spiritual levels.
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