Kathmandu : CREASION Nepal, in collaboration with Golanjor Rural Municipality, Youth Cohorts, the Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, Traffic Police, and other stakeholders, completed a river cleanup campaign that removed 24,575 kg of waste from the Sunkoshi river banks and waste hotspots.

Today, over 134 people participated in a river cleanup campaign organized by Project CAP (Collaborative Approach for Preventing Plastic Leakages in Rivers) in Khurkot, Golanjor-7 under the PLEASE (Plastic Free Rivers and Seas of South Asia).

According to Ujjwal Upadhay, team lead for project CAP, as part of this project, we all gathered in Golanjor-7 to begin the river cleanup activity because we are supposed to conduct at least 12 river cleanup campaigns together, one in each of the seven municipalities that signed a Memorandum of Understanding with us covering our project area.

As a result, today all the people representing government bodies and bureaucrats, security forces such as the Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, Traffic Police, and local NGOs, particularly those working in the fields of social mobilization, solid waste, and the environment, came together, along with 30+ staff members of CREASION Nepal and members of the VFC youth cohort.

“In collaboration with Golanjor Rural Municipality, we were able to transfer 24,575 kg of waste from the riverside to another proposed landfill site using a loader, an excavator, and two trippers (20 trips, each carrying 1.2 tons of waste). CAP project helped in opening the way to the new landfill site, and rest of the waste was managed in the previous hotspot using standard waste management mechanisms.”

“The cleanup campaign on the dumping site yesterday and this morning was absolutely haywire. It was absolutely unmanaged, disastrous, and that area has now been completely recovered and cleaned up, so today’s river cleanup campaign has achieved its goal thus far,” Upadhay added.

Aanand Mishra, founder and president of CREASION, emphasized the importance of individual responsibility in conserving natural resources. “We should not rely solely on external motivation or funding for crucial work like nature conservation. This commitment should come from within, ensuring a better future for Nepal. However, in some cases, such incentives are necessary for innovative solutions.”

He added, “It depends on whether we leave clean hills and mountains or polluted ones. We must understand that our actions today are for ourselves, our country, and our community, ensuring a better environment for future generations.”

Mishra also expressed his appreciation for Shankar Baral, chairperson of Golanjor Rural Municipality, for collaborating with us to reduce plastic pollution on highways and in rivers.

Similarly, Shankar Baral, Chairperson of Golanjor Municipality, stated, “CREASION is assisting us with our work. Golanjor Rural Municipality has been experiencing waste problems as a result of rapid urbanisation. And it is severe in Golanjor. Plastic bottles and waste could be found everywhere. We express our sheer commitment to help CREASION Nepal in its movement of keeping the rivers of Nepal clean across Nepal with a collaborative approach.”