KATHMANDU, July 25

As many as 200 saplings of different species were planted on the banks of the Bagmati River in Teku Dobhan and surrounding areas on Saturday as part of the 115th week of the Bagmati Mega Cleanup Campaign. The saplings were planted with the support from Department of Forest.

Similarly, a total of 50 tonnes of garbage was collected from the surrounding areas of the Bagmati, Manohara and Bishnumati rivers on Saturday.

The sapling plantation programme was launched last week with a view to making the riverbank green and beautiful. The Bagmati Mega Cleanup Campaign was launched on May 18, 2013.

During on Saturday’s cleanup campaign, Chief Secretary Leelamani Paudyal, who launched the campaign in 2013, stressed on the need to make the riverbanks green by protecting the planted saplings. He called for support from all sectors to make and keep the holy river clean.

Similarly, Krishna Chandra Poudel, Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Rabinman Shrestha, Chief of the Environment Management Division of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, also stressed on the need to keep the Bagmati River clean.