A campaign to create a 'Plastic-Free Devghat' has been launched to manage waste and keep the famous religious site of Devghat Dham clean.

"We are soon declaring Devghatdham a plastic-free zone. Preparations for that are underway. We will continue to monitor regularly even after the declaration," said Devghat Area Development Committee Chairman Ishwori Raj Laudari.

Devghatdham has touched Chitwan, Tanahun and Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East). Devghat Area Development Committee has led this campaign in collaboration with Bharatpur Metropolitan City of Chitwan, Devghat Rural Municipality of Tanahun and Gaindakot Municipality of Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East).

A non-governmental organization called Manthi of Gaindakot has supported this. Devghatdham is going to be declared a plastic and other waste-free zone by linking river cleanliness under Manthi's 'Nadi Sang Hami' project, said Sadan Baral, Executive Director of Devghat Area Development Committee. 

Taranath Subedi of the Santhosh Sanstha said that work is underway to formulate a common program and concept between the representatives of the environment departments, ward representatives and the Area Development Committee of all three municipalities.

‘16 public toilets have been built in the Devghat area. Work has been done to install dustbins at various places. We have also made boat operators aware of waste management,’ said Subedi. 

The Devghat area is spread over 543 hectares. The Kaligandaki, which is the source of Damodarkund, and the Trishuli river flowing from Gosaikunda meet at Devghatdham. Since there is a religious belief that gods also come to bathe at the confluence of Kaligandaki and Trishuli, this area is considered an important pilgrimage site for those who believe in Hinduism. 

‘But complaints about the pollution here have increased recently. That is why it is necessary to launch a cleaning campaign,’ said Laudori, chairman of the Area Development Committee. Plastic is seen everywhere on the banks of the river, which is considered sacred.

‘We request you not to bring plastic when you come to Devghat. Do not litter. There is no religion by littering and using plastic that spoils the river and soil,’ said Chairman Laudari. The agreement has assessed the waste generated on the banks of the Narayani River on both sides of Chitwan and Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East). In which, engineer Sagar Karki, who was involved in the assessment work, said that a lot of plastic waste was found.

Bharatpur Metropolitan City has passed a program to make Devghat plastic-free from the municipal council. ‘If the existing policy arrangements are implemented, it is easy to make our religious places plastic-free and garbage-free,’ said Karki. The trend of people coming from far away to Devghat not only to bathe and worship but also to cremate the deceased is increasing.

Keeping the cremation site clean is also becoming a challenge. From shaving blades to rags brought from home, people are seen throwing them away. To prevent this, regular cleaning staff will be deployed, dustbins will be arranged for garbage, and places to store blades and razors will be provided to prevent them from being thrown away, said Sadan Baral, executive director of the Area Development Committee.