Bagmati River

As I come to the end of my time in Nepal, I've needed to finalise a number of things with VSO, and so needed to cycle over to their offices yesterday. The route I follow takes me over the Bagmati River, which flows through the Kathmandu valley and separates Kathmandu from Lalitpur. It is considered a holy river both by Hindus and Buddhists. A number of Hindu temples are located on the banks of this river. It has been/is also a site of innumerable squatter camps in Kathmandu. This is the view of the Bagmati from where I cross it.

Even before reaching Kathmandu, the river is polluted by agricultural runoff and human waste. In Kathmandu the river receives a high load of untreated sewage, and rubbish. According to Water Aid only 31% of Nepal has sanitation coverage, leading to widespread open defecation. Approximately a third of all deaths in Nepal are of children under five, and half of these are due to diarrhoea.

For some countries the 21st Century is a little way away...