An all-party meeting chaired by Chief District Officer Bhola Dahal in Parsa on Saturday decided to completely ban the dumping of industrial waste and other materials into the Sirsiya River during the upcoming Chhath festival. The meeting also directed industries along the river to release only treated water from their treatment plants, while untreated chemical water was strictly prohibited from being mixed into the river, in a bid to keep the waterway clean as preparations for the festival move forward.

A unified decision ahead of Chhath

The meeting, held in Parsa district under the chairmanship of CDO Bhola Dahal, brought together political parties in an all-party format to discuss the state of the Sirsiya River ahead of the festival. According to a report by RatoPati, the gathering arrived at a clear set of instructions aimed at preventing pollution of the river during the Chhath period.

The key decisions taken at the meeting are:

  • A complete ban on the dumping of industrial waste and materials into the Sirsiya River during the Chhath festival.
  • A requirement that industries release only treated water from their treatment plants into the river.
  • A strict prohibition on untreated chemical water from industries being mixed into the river.

The all-party nature of the meeting is significant, as it signals that the measures carry consensus backing across the political spectrum. Rather than a directive issued by a single authority, the decision reflects a joint position among the parties represented at the table, chaired by the district's chief administrator, at a moment when attention turns to the condition of rivers used for worship.

The river at the heart of an industrial corridor

The Sirsiya River flows through the industrial corridor of Bara and Parsa, an area that is home to a concentration of factories and industrial units. Because the river runs alongside these industries, the discharge of effluents and the dumping of waste materials have direct implications for water quality along the stretch that passes through the corridor. It is precisely this industrial presence that informed the scope of Saturday's decision.

The directive places the onus squarely on the factories operating in Bara and Parsa. Under the decision, industries along the river must ensure that the water they release has passed through their treatment plants before it enters the Sirsiya. The meeting left little ambiguity on the point: untreated chemical water is to be strictly prohibited from being mixed into the river, and the dumping of waste and materials is banned outright for the duration of the festival.

Why clean water matters for Chhath

Chhath is one of the most important festivals observed in the Terai region, including districts such as Parsa and Bara. Celebrated over four days, the festival sees devotees observe rigorous fasts and offer prayers to the sun, standing in rivers, ponds and other water bodies to make their offerings to the setting and rising sun. The rituals place the cleanliness of the water at the centre of the celebration, which is why the condition of rivers such as the Sirsiya draws close attention whenever the festival approaches.

By timing the ban to the Chhath period, the all-party meeting has sought to ensure that devotees who use the river and its banks during the festival encounter water that is free of industrial waste. The decision covers both the dumping of solid waste and materials and the release of untreated liquid discharge, addressing the two principal ways in which industrial activity can degrade a river passing through a manufacturing belt.

What the directive means for industry

For factories along the corridor, the directive effectively means that their effluent treatment plants must be in use throughout the festival period, with only treated water permitted to flow into the Sirsiya. This places the responsibility for compliance on the industries themselves. Any release of untreated chemical water into the river stands strictly prohibited under the decision, and the dumping of industrial waste and materials of any kind is barred while the ban is in force.

The decision also sends a broader message about the expectations placed on industry located along the river. With the ban anchored to the Chhath festival, the meeting's directives make the festival period a test of how the corridor's factories manage their discharge, and of whether the water released into the Sirsiya meets the treated-water standard that the all-party gathering has demanded.

The road through the festival

With Chhath on the horizon, the all-party decision chaired by CDO Bhola Dahal stands as the clearest signal yet that the Sirsiya River is to be kept free of industrial waste during the festival. For Bara and Parsa, where the river threads through an industrial corridor, the coming days will show how the directives translate into practice along the banks of the Sirsiya, and whether the combined authority of the district administration and the political parties assembled in Parsa succeeds in delivering a cleaner river for the devotees who gather at its waters for Chhath.