The youths cleaned the Phewa canal by mobilizing groups through social media

Garbage piled up in the canal carrying the water of Fewatal has been in the news on social media for some days now. The water flowing from the canal at the damside reaches the powerhouse of Phewa Micro Hydropower Project. The same water is also used for irrigation.

After seeing the discussion and concern on social media about the accumulation of garbage in this canal of Damside, the youths of Pokhara made a plan to dump garbage. Ashish Puri, a young journalist from Pokhara, called on Facebook to clean the damside canal.

He called for cleaning the canal with a new design. Other youths who were in contact with him also started connecting. They collaborated with the local Damside Youth Club to pick up garbage.

The public appeal to pick up the garbage from the canal and the crowd of youths who were in touch soon gathered, they reached the damside on Monday morning to pick up the garbage. There was no place to pick up garbage. The youths of Damside Club called a garbage truck of Pokhara metropolis.

Garbage piled up in the canal was picked up and packed and sent by a group of youths in a garbage truck. The cleaning on Monday morning did not allow all the garbage to be picked up. They also picked up garbage on Tuesday morning and the water flowing in the canal became clear.

"We have picked up the garbage by calling all the youths, not in an institutional manner," Ashish told Sethopati. "About 50 people gathered when we made open calls from friends and Facebook."

He said that 200 bags of garbage were collected from the two-morning clean-up. The vehicle of the metropolis had taken three consignments to take the garbage.

Amisha Baral said that most of the plastic bottles that came out during the cleaning went to pick up garbage. She said that plastic bottles were found in the first layer of the canal but other garbage was also found inside. Garbage from the lake was washed away and piled up in the canal.

According to Ashish, the garbage picked up from the damside on Monday and Tuesday was thrown by the residents of Pokhara. Firkekhola, which flows through the pond above the damside, joins the Fewatal. The river is now flowing like a sewer.

 The same river that reaches the lake through Baidam of Pokhara carries most of the garbage to the lake and mixes it. According to Ashish, the garbage got stuck in the canal as the water of the lake was flowing. "After cleaning the canal, cold water has flowed," he said. "Garbage should not be dumped in the backwaters to prevent it from filling up again."

They have demanded the Pokhara metropolis to put a net to prevent the garbage from entering the canal. Similarly, Amisha said that those who throw garbage in the lake should be kept clean and those who throw garbage should be fined.

"Municipal vehicles come to collect garbage. It would have been given there. Not only the backwaters, but also the garbage dumped on the other side is washed away by the water and taken to the Fewatal," said Amisha.