IN PICS | Nepal's holy Bagmati River choked with black sewage, trash

Tainted by garbage and raw sewage that is dumped directly into the waterway, Nepal’s holiest river has deteriorated so greatly that today it is the country’s most polluted, dramatically altering how the city of about 3 million interacts with the Bagmati on daily, cultural and spiritual levels.

Tainted by garbage and raw sewage that is dumped directly into the waterway, Nepal’s holiest river has deteriorated so greatly that today it is the country’s most polluted, dramatically altering how the city of about 3 million interacts with the Bagmati on daily, cultural and spiritual levels. (Photo | AP) 

A man collects water from the source of the Bagmati River to offer prayers at Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park north of Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo | AP)

A woman walks over drainage pipes that flow into the Bagmati River. The government committee Mala Kharel set up to help clean up the river, said that the campaign has succeeded in collecting about 80% of the garbage along the riverbank. But the pickup efforts admittedly fall short. (Photo | AP)

Garbage sits on the banks of the Bagmati River. (Photo | AP)

Drainage pipes empty into the Bishnumati River, a tributary of the Bagmati River, in Kathmandu. (Photo | AP)

Men participate in a cleanup effort for the Bagmati River. (Photo | AP)

Born and raised next to the Bagmati, Mithu Lama (59) recalls using its waters for cooking, bathing, washing and even drinking. Today that feels like a long-ago dream dashed by decades of dumping human waste and refuse, and one she doesn’t expect to see again anytime soon. (Photo | AP)

Men participate in a cleanup effort for the Bagmati River. (Photo | AP)

Workers walk through the Guheswori Wastewater Treatment Plant, where some of the water from the Bagmati River water is treated before it reaches the Pashupatinath Temple. (Photo | AP)

Bubbles form from the polluted water of the Bagmati River as it is processed at the Guheswori Wastewater Treatment Plant before it reaches the Pashupatinath Temple. (Photo | AP)