KATHMANDU, Feb. 20 -- When the passersby look at the Bagmati River from the Shantinagar Bridge, all that they can see is a huge pile of solid waste being swept away by a brown colored river. The residents of the capital, who take the river for granted, have been disposing of their waste, - biodegradable as well as non-biodegradable - in the river for decades. As a result, the river has become synonymous with pollution.
However, the river, which is considered sacred by Hindus, is not polluted to such an extent everywhere in its 44 km stretch in the Kathmandu Valley. A community of people living beside a seven kilometers section of the river has set an example of effective waste management for all the residents of the riverbanks.
For the la...