Peace pagoda, Lumbini
The gifts of historical stories and monuments are great, in fact very much fascinating for both of the internal and external visitors. Needless to say, such monuments and wrapped up stories in their parts are valuable treasures of a nation and even of the world. In context to my visit to historical place, Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha this article is a proposal and a plead for environment conservation.

Lumbini which lies in Kapilvastu , Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha who is the founder of the religion, Buddhism. Buddhism is followed and respected all over the world its followers being highest in Asia. Lumbini holds a divine beauty with its famous monuments viz Ashoka pillar (where King Ashoka made pillar for the remembrance of birthplace of Lord Buddha), Mayadevi temple (where Lord Buddha was actually born), Korean monastery (made by Korean government), Peace pagoda (made by Japanese government) and a lot more. History suggests that Lord Buddha who lived as Prince Siddhartha Gautam in the very Lumbini was discontented on the worldly love, pain and strings and thus went on to find peace and later got Mokshya (peace in soul and mind).  This world heritage site which lies in acres of land is recognized by many social, architectural, anthropological researchers and is a glimpse of heaven for all who sets a foot into.

Present condition of Lumbini World Heritage site

Lumbini World Heritage site has monuments in good condition and many are still under construction. The area around the monuments are however quite frustrating. A good example of negligence over waste disposal is thoroughly seen. Food wrappers, plastic bags, pamphlets, posters etc. are haphazardly thrown. Consequently, beautiful lotus ponds inside the site seem to be filled with more wastes than lotuses. Similar is the case of the resting benches, parks and the parking areas. On the other hand, loose cattle grazing over the area creates nuisance. Yet dismay is to see that there seem to be no rules and policies whatsoever that can guarantee a cleaner environment. I happened to ask the local people about this and they seemed not to care much.

Why conservation and sanitation is required in Lumbini World Heritage site?

To repeat myself again, Lumbini World Heritage is a treasure of Nepal. The beautiful constructions, breathtaking ponds, mesmerizing historical areas are the things that we need to preserve along with the faith we have and identity we belong to. The pollution in this area has degraded the beauty and has also created chain reaction to the biodiversity dwelling in this area. The throw-away attitude and the waste mismanagement seems just a matter of pollution but whole the efforts to develop socially and economically will be futile when we can?t first learn to civilize on our own. And cleanliness and conservation are not only acts of common sense but also examples of civilization.

My Plead and Proposal

I had never imagined that wastes can cause such an impact to the precious sites. After visiting Lumbini, I am more curious to work for conservation. During my visit, I tried to recollect solutions for this problem. Solutions can be cleanliness campaigns and for sustainability, installation of recycle bins, dustbins and strict rules including charges for creating pollution. Since, the area is very big and government has petty interests on these matters, I would like to take initiatives on my own in near future. For that, I am currently seeking help from many sectors but haven?t got a rigid support yet. To everyone who is reading this article, I would like to encourage you to help me through information and ideas to solve this. And I hereby request people visiting Lumbini World Heritage site and any other places to help minimize pollution or at least help not to maximize it.