As the population living in the valley is increasing every year, the management of waste water coming out of the house is becoming a big challenge. Whether it is used water or faecal waste, its management is becoming increasingly difficult. According to the census of 2078, the population of the valley is 3 million 25 thousand 386.

Only one sewage treatment plant is operational for such a large population. That processing center is also built targeting a limited area only. Uddhav Nepal, deputy project director and information officer of the empowered Wagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee, said that this is the only processing center operating in the valley. "This treatment center will process sewage from Gokarneswar, Makalbari, Chabahil and Mitrapark areas," he said Construction of other sewage treatment plants, which are being built with concessional loans from donor agencies, is slow. It is not yet decided when it will be built. At present, a sewage treatment center has been constructed under the authority of Wagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee at Gaurighat in Guhyeshwari, where sewage and waste water are treated.

The center, which was commissioned in 1997 and put into operation in 2000, can process sewage at a rate of 190 liters per second, which was built with the investment of the Government of Nepal. After 17 million liters of water comes from Melamchi, it is estimated that 80 percent of it will be converted into sewage, and the capacity of the treatment center has been expanded. A waste water management project with a concessional loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) started in the valley along with Melamchi's water supply. For that, a loan agreement was signed between ADB and the Government of Nepal in June 2013.

In view of the goal of bringing Melamchi's water up to 51 million liters per day, in the first phase, the old sewage treatment plant of Guhyeshwari has been upgraded. Its capacity has been increased to process 30 million 24 million liters of sewage per day. It has been upgraded in 2020 at a cost of 2 billion 800 million and it has been decided that the contractor company will run it by itself for 10 years. Now it is run accordingly.

Two treatment centers of 37 million liters in Dhobighat in Lalitpur, 142 million liters in Sallaghari in Bhaktapur and 175 million liters in Kotkhu in Patan are being constructed at a cost of 6 billion rupees. After the work was not completed in the first phase, the contract was terminated and a new contract was made. Currently, the design work is being done with an agreement with the Indian company VA Tech Babag. The contract work in the second phase should be completed by June 2026. After all these centers are operational, facilities will reach 20 to 22 lakh population of the valley, which is not enough.

According to Yogendra Chitrakar, 'Waste Water' Project Manager of Melamchi Sub-Project-2 under the Project Implementation Directorate, 1 crore 62 lakh liters of sewage is processed per day from the center operating in Guhyeshwari. A small tunnel has also been built as an alternative to what to do with the sewage when the sewage treatment plant is not built and it is not working, he said, "There is a 572 meter long tunnel with a width of two meters next to the forest behind Guhyeshwari, and the sewage is discharged into the Tilganga from the tunnel made in this way. He said that the sewage was bypassed in this way so as not to reach the Pashupati area. That has not been done in the one that needs to be cleaned every two years. 

The lack of regular cleaning, maintenance and skilled manpower has added challenges to sewage management. "There is a thought that once a sewage structure is built, it will last forever," said the painter, "The practice of not maintaining, cleaning and maintaining is a big challenge." After the structure of the treatment center is built, will the problem of waste water, sewage and toilet waste that has been used in Kathmandu be solved? No, there is not only Bagmati River in Kathmandu. There are 7 major tributaries coming into Bagmati, there are also small canals coming into these tributaries,' he said, 'Unless arrangements are made to bring sewage to the treatment center, one or two treatment centers built along the river cannot address all the problems.' story -break In addition to this, the sewage treatment center will not be built and if the sewage network is not properly operated, the operation of the treatment center will also be a challenge, said the painter. According to experts, there is no need to build sewage networks and large-scale treatment plants to manage the sludge accumulated in septic tanks. A small processing center is sufficient. It does not require a lot of land. He said that it is necessary for the state to make a policy to provide sanitation services in places where there is no sewage system and only septic tanks.

According to Chitrakar, about 50 tankers are passing in Kathmandu valley every day to dump sewage from septic tanks. 

These 50 tankers make an average of two/three trips a day. According to this, about 600 cubic meters of faecal sludge is being produced, which is now being dumped into the sewage system. Although

should have been a separate immersion, it has not been done. At first, the bottom of the chovar was directly poured into the river. The tankers carrying feces are not officially operational. He said that it is necessary for the government to manage and regulate this issue as well. There is no standard for how much and what type of waste should be mixed into the sewage system.

A unified concept has not been formed among the relevant agencies about creating such structures. There is no coordination between various agencies in the construction of sewage system in Kathmandu Valley, there is only competition. Empowered Wagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee, Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Limited (KUKL), Metropolitan Corporation, Municipality, Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Ward Offices and Consumer and Toll Improvement Committees formed in tolls are constructing sewers.

The Water and Sewerage Management Department is building sewerage systems in municipalities outside the ring road. Locals have been connecting the sewers of their houses to the sewers made by the road department to manage rain water. He says that there is no coordination and cooperation between these bodies. 

Not only that, while there is talk of smart city, there is no integrated concept and implementation modality of creating a sewage system network in Kathmandu Valley. "Those who have the resources, those who need them, make it according to their own plan and connect it to the sewage system," said the painter, "there is a lack of coordination between them."

Dirty water always causes cholera 

Due to the failure to manage used water and faecal waste at home, it is causing diseases like cholera, diarrhea and jaundice in Barseni Valley. Last July, 14 cholera patients were found in Godavari and Imadol areas of Lalitpur. According to health workers, cholera infection was observed when faecal waste was mixed with the water source. Even in June 2007, due to lack of waste management in Kathmandu, cholera appeared in Baghbazar area.

Hemant Chandra Ojha, Senior Medical Superintendent of the Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, said that not only cholera but also diarrhea, jaundice, typhoid, and skin diseases are increasing in Kathmandu Valley due to contaminated water and food. "Cholera, diarrhea and jaundice are caused by contaminated water or food," Ojha said. But the city is not ready to deal with the disease.

When garbage is piled up for a long time, it turns into a liquid (bag) and slowly goes to the water source. They get to eat flies sitting in the dirt. And, through these two means, the disease is spreading to humans. According to Rajendra Shrestha, program director of Enfo, an environment and public health organization that has been working on drinking water and sanitation in various districts including the valley, the challenge of solid and liquid waste has been added to Kathmandu Valley. "Even now, we do not see where the water coming out of the canals built in Kathmandu goes," he says, "but now it is diverted within 10 years of construction." In the remaining 89 percent, only ordinary pits have been made. 'Seems that a leaky septic tank is made so that the water does not fill up quickly,' said Shrestha, 'Septic tanks that leak like this are dangerous from the point of view of public health.' Shrestha pointed out that the underground source of water will be polluted. There is no center anywhere in the Kathmandu Valley to treat faecal waste from septic tanks, except for the model center in Luvu, which handles two truckloads of waste a week. Therefore, the garbage removed after cleaning the septic tank is mixed in the sewer.