Thimi, January 31:

Madhyapur Thimi residents’ attempt to reduce contamination of Hanumante khola that

flows from Bhaktapur to Koteshwore, through a water treatment plant in Thimi has not only reduced possibility of landslide in the area, but also met the water needs of a school in the neighbourhood.

The Sunga Wastewater Treatment Plant (SWTP) at Thimi-14 decontaminates sewage from 81 households and the Mount Sinai boarding school. The sewage from the plant is further used by the Bal Preemi secondary school for sanitary purposes.

Wastewater from Tashu, Sunga, and Balkumari neighbourhoods is collected in a treatment tank and treated in constructed wetlands. The process is repeated twice before discharging the water to the Hanumante khola.

The SWTP has the capacity to treat wastewater from 200 households. Krishna Lal Goja Shrestha, president of SWTP management committee, said they were planning to charge

the residents to run the plant. The treatment plant constructed at a total cost of Rs 2.2 million was supported by the Madhayapur Thimi municipality, Environment and Public Health Organisation, Asian Development Bank, UN HABITAT, and Water Aid.

“This is only a small step to clean Hanumante, one of the most polluted rivers in the Kathmandu Valley. The main purpose of the plant is the reuse of wastewater,” Shrestha said. He added that the plant would stand as an example for other municipalities to lessen contamination of rivulets. “We have plans to set up four other treatment plants at Ikudol, Jalkhu, Kaikuta and Siddhikali if the municipality provides land for construction.” He said locals of Sundarnagar had sought construction of the treatment plant in their area, too.