Kathmandu, December 10

Around 22 metric tonnes of waste was extracted from major rivers of Kathmandu Valley today.

Marking the 187th week of river clean-up campaign, volunteers scooped up 12 metric tonnes of garbage from Sanepa stretch of the Bagmati River.

Volunteers participating in the campaign were divided into two groups. While one group collected waste, the other group held an awareness programme, said an official at High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilisation.

The public awareness campaign launched in Sanepa was themed ‘Let us not throw garbage into the river, bring those disposing of garbage to book, and participate in the river clean-up campaign from the nearest area’.

The clean-up campaign was led by Chief Secretary Dr Somlal Subedi, former secretaries Kishor Thapa and Keshav Bhattarai. Personnel from Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force also participated in the campaign. Lalitpur Sub Metropolis has raised   1.2 million in fine from those caught throwing garbage into the river.