The Clean Bagmati Campaign is in its 48th week and during this period the Bagmati river and its surroundings have undergone a transformation that was hard to imagine for many of the Kathmandu denizens. Thanks to all those campaign participants, who volunteered to clean the Bagmati banks and dredge up the pollutants from the waters, Bagmati appears clean and its banks free from garbage piles. But how clean has the river become? To answer this question a high-level government officials including Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal on Monday bathed in Bagmati. As many as 100 campaigners, including government officials, environmentalists and general public, gathered along the stretch of Guheshwori Temple located less than 500 metres from the famous Hindu temple of Pashupatinath to bathed in the almost stagnant waters of Bagmati. The event was a pre-planned activity of the campaign led by Chief Secretary Paudyal in support from other concerned stakeholders in an attempt to impart message on improving status of the polluted Bagmati River and its tributaries from pollution, and other harmful materials including sewage and drainages. “This is a milestone for all of us who are concerned over the deteriorating physical, biological and environmental status of the river. It is a part of our continued awareness effort with a realisation that it is possible to revive the dead and polluted Bagmati River and make the water suitable for bathing for all,” said Kishore Thapa, secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development and one of the regular officials taking part in the campaign since its launch more than a year ago. According to Thapa, the campaigners decided to hold the bathing ceremony at Guheshwori River stretch after the tests conducted on water quality found that the water flowing from Sundarijal to Guheshwori area was of bathing quality, as the authorities are working to construct separate sewerage lines on either sides of the rivers to collect the household sewerage and drainage that were previously directly disposed off in the river causing pollution. Normally, the Bagmati river section starting from the Bagdwar in the upstream area to Guheswhori is considered clean compared to the river stretch flowing downstream starting from Sinamangal to Chobar inside the Kathmandu Valley. As per the water quality testing conducted regularly at different river sections, it is found that the water along the 9 kilometres Sundarijal-Guheshwori stretch has improved. Similarly, the visibility in the river is improving along the stretch from Guheshwori to Balkumari, though it is not yet suitable for bathing purpose, as the Manohara river mixes in this section. Likewise, the river stretch from Sankhamul to Thapathali is free from plastics and other visible substances, though it is still polluted.