Volume 7, Issue 1, April 2019
Articles

Right to Freedom of Religion and Right to Clean Environment: A case of Bagmati River, Pashupatinath Temple

Dia Maijadh Yonzon
Feminist and a Writer, Open Institute for Social Science, Gender Research
Ojaswi K. C.
legal researcher, Master’s Degree, Human Rights and Democratisation, Mahidol University

Published 2021-03-05

How to Cite

Yonzon, D. M., & K. C., O. . (2021). Right to Freedom of Religion and Right to Clean Environment: A case of Bagmati River, Pashupatinath Temple. Kathmandu School of Law Review, 7(1), 112–129. https://doi.org/10.46985/kslr.v7i1.1205

Abstract

This research deals with two fundamental rights listed in the Constitution of Nepal, 2015; the Right to freedom of religion and the Right to clean environment with a special reference to the Bagmati River and riverbank in Pashupatinath Temple. The aim of the research is to visualize a clean river while keeping in mind the continuation of centuriesold traditions. The research explores the question of whether the religious practices performed in the river are destructible to the river ecosystem or not. It further tries to see the stance of state regarding its approach to finding the middle ground between the two different fundamental rights. The researchers have assessed this dimension through the study of ritual performance in the banks of Bagmati River, state policy and citizen’s attitude regarding this issue. Bagmati River is considered as a holiest of holy by followers of Hinduism. It provides a sample to understand the significant role played by other Hindu temples and their river banks located in the territory of Nepal in determining the river’ s purposes along with the sustainability of the river and its tributaries.

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References

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  36. The respondents were from the age group 16-25(119 respondents), 23-35(24 respondents), 36-45 (2 respondents), 46-55 (1 respondent), and one respondent did not identify the age.
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  41. Shanti Khadka is a devotee of Lord Pashupatinath. She visits the Temple more than four or five times a week.
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  70. The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 (2063 B.S.), art. 16.
  71. The Constitution of Nepal, 2015 (2072 B.S.), art. 30.
  72. In which the Ministry of Urban Development High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilization (HPCIDBC) came up with the BAP as one of the major achievements of the collaboration with National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC).
  73. BAP covered the Bagmati river system from Shivpuri hill to Katuwal Daha. The total plan outlay for five years was approximately NRs. 15,000,000,000 (Fifteen Billion) to tackle the issues of decrease in water discharge and the degradation of river ecosystems. Also, narrowing and deepening of the waterway, degradation of catchment quality and water quality, eroding aesthetic and cultural values, riverside land use changes etc. were seen as some of the critical issues of the Bagmati river system.
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  75. Ashish Ghimire is a Project Manager under Ministry of Urban Development, Government of Nepal at High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization, Panchakanya Marga, and Kathmandu 44600.
  76. At every clean-up, on the low end, at least 10 metric tons of waste has been taken out of the river at different locations. In December of 2017, 37 metric tons of waste was collected from Bagmati River across the Kathmandu Valley, and just a month later, in January of 2018, 30 metric tons of waste were collected, which begs the question about the approach of the clean-up. Of course, major sewerage points have been diverted away from the river and throwing waste directly into the water body has been strictly regulated. However, a stroll near the banks of Bagmati and its rivulets at different points inside the valley shows plastic bags stuffed with household waste still floating in the body. To give a larger picture, at the beginning of 2017, 37 metric tons of waste was collected from the river. See ‘No reduction in plastic litter in Bagmati’, The Himalayan Times, 02 August 2017 available at https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/no-reduction-plastic-litter-bagmati/, accessed on 30 September 2018.
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