Kathmandu, Oct. 23 -- Just five years ago, Thapathali's Panchayan Marg was a foul garbage dump-the entire road lined with stinking trash. Frustrated and disgusted, locals put up a sign that forbade throwing trash on the street, but to no avail. Then, they came up with an innovative idea. Carved marble images of various deities like Ganesh, Shiva, Laxmi, Saraswati, Bishnu and Bhagawati were placed on a wall along the entire road section. Now, the Panchayan Marg is free of trash, as no one dares disrespect the gods by throwing garbage in front of their images.

"Earlier, people would come to defecate during the night time and urinate during the day. But after locals put up images of Hindu deities, elderly women have started coming to worshi...