An army of people equipped with clinical gloves and masks gather on the banks of Bagmati every Saturday morning. Denying themselves the pleasure of weekend indolence, these people from different walks of life have come together to put an effort to clean the Bagmati river. They have made their routine to visit the Bagmati banks on Saturday morning and pick up the waste. While many collect the waste from the banks, a few daring ones jump into the river to pull out the garbage. The Bagmati flowing through the Capital has witnessed an elegant transformation after Clean Bagmati Campaign started 40 weeks ago. Over time, drive has also gathered supports from individuals and organisations. On Saturday, Kantipur Publications extended its assistance in the campaign. Participating in the cleaning campaign, the publications Chairman Kailash Sirohiya expressed his commitment to continuously support the cause. “We will be participating in this campaign, which is a good initiative” said Sirohiya. Similarly, the publications Assistant General Manager Mahesh Swar said the publications have also envisioned a 200-metre garden in the Minbhawan Bridge area. “We are planning to construct this garden in the assigned green belt, and we will be responsible for its maintenance” said Swar. The publications team was also joined by Editor in Chief of The Kathmandu Post Akhilesh Upadhyay, Editor in Chief of Kantipur daily Sudheer Sharma and Editor in Chief of Nari monthly Subash Dhakal. The publications team along with the representatives from Kantipur television and Radio Kantipur, cleaned the Bagmati banks from Minbhawan Bridge till Mahadevsthan. Commencing the campaign, Chief Secretary, Leela Mani Poudyal said that everyone has to be responsible for cleaning Bagmati . “Only our participation can revive Bagmati to its original status” he said. He also expressed that this campaign involving locals had been the most successful one so far. The campaign has also developed awareness among the local residents to keep the river and its banks clean. The strict ban on disposing wastes and garbage in river periphery has also tidied the river. According to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, 175 people have been charged for polluting the river and banks so far. Many of the household and industrial drainages that were directly channeled to river system have also been diverted to proper sewerage system, constructed on either side of the banks. The campaign plans to clean the 21km stretch of Bagmati river from Bagdwar to Chobhar.