Most of them have been deeply affected by deforestation, sand mining and extraction of materials from the riverbed.
To meet the demand, traders have been engaging in haphazard extraction of sand and pebbles from the rivers in different parts of Nepal.
There is a great risk of various hazardous diseases spreading in human settlements located on the banks of polluted rivers.
The squatters are also responsible for polluting the riverbanks, and they are the first to get affected by their actions.
Protecting water resources and the existing rivers should be the prime concern of the related government ministries, agencies, civil society and every citizen.
The government of Nepal has unveiled many plans, the Supreme Court has handed down various rulings regarding water and the environment, many workshops and seminars have been held on water resource conservation and the importance of water has been included in the school curriculum, but, as usual, there is no effective implementation of what has been said and learned.
Every individual is responsible for the polluted rivers in their country.
When rivers have been given the legal status of human beings in a neighbouring country and other states and countries have taken action to protect their rivers, we should at least respect what nature has given us and protect what we have.
We should not forget that rivers give us hydropower to light our homes, water to drink, water to irrigate our crops and water for various other purposes.
We should ask them about their roles and responsibilities until there is proper implementation of a mechanism to protect and conserve rivers which, in some countries, are treated as human beings.