Healing Kathmandu continues…

Sushil Thapa was the mayoral candidate of Kathmandu Metropolitan CIty during the 2079 Local Level Election. He is also the founder of "The Healing Kathmandu" Movement.

The Healing Kathmandu movement was envisioned during my mayoral candidacy for Kathmandu Metro City, and it will continue with more knowledge and strength. 

I tried to relate to and convey the importance of oxygen for life and portrayed the lung of Kathmandu as not clean. There are several direct and indirect ways of controlling pollution to have fresh air. It is now the season to plant trees. We can find as many places as possible to have more plantations. Healing Kathmandu activists are willing to contribute and volunteer to tree plantations within Kathmandu city. We hope the freshly elected mayor would consider engaging people with their active participation in the ownership.

 

Segregation of waste into at least two parts- (decomposable) wet and dry is the first step to waste management. The city office needs to generate awareness of this process to ease the centralized waste management system. One of the objectives of the Healing Kathmandu movement is to support local government with the necessary knowledge and connecting professionals for the fail-safe strategy to implement best practices using appropriate technology. I hope the intention behind the "Expert First" concept is well understood by the municipal management.

 

When you want to heal, you get to know the pain area. The very next pain area of Kathmandu is ever-increasing traffic management. One of the vital sources of pollution, especially "smog", is vehicle emission. Bad roads, traffic jams and not having appropriate parking areas are the major reasons. Electric vehicles, mass transit vehicles, vertical mechanical parking with continued repair and maintenance of the road, street furniture and traffic control lights must be in place. They should be well regulated and monitored. The indirect effort to control emissions is to stop the movement of people, which is very much avoidable by shifting it to work from home and digitalization of services.

 

There are more than 1000 applications that get approved for the construction of new residential houses every year in Kathmandu. Block-based planned house and facade guidelines would help urbanization looks less ugly. The absence of a mandatory soak pit and septic tank, obstructions in the footpath with the construction materials and encroachment with an oddly made vehicle ramp over the sidewalk deserve a heavy fine, an action to be initiated now. 

 

Preserving both sides of river banks and maintaining green belts with appropriate trees that hold soil, absorb chemical residue in the water, control dust pollution and exhale oxygen are the low hanging opportunities for healing Kathmandu. Permeable paving of the pavements and river corridors are game-changers in groundwater recharge strategy. Kathmandu has become dry, and the rivers are dying, laundering the poor policy of corrupt governance and poor civic sense of people.   

Private Hospitals are allowed to charge the fortune. But, medical waste, which is supposed to be the most harmful, is disposed of randomly on the river banks or in some public spaces. 

The space might be a good place for a park or a vehicle parking space. Traditional stone taps are still wet and have the potential of becoming a neighborhood water source, as we could arrange for a fierce ground recharge program. The strength of aggregated rainwater harvest mechanism would prove to be the great source of drinking water Kathmandu is desperately looking for. The natural source of water is also looking for care and preservation so that they keep quenching the thirst of people living in the capital city. Healing Kathmandu by making safe drinking water for all is important. It is a mandatory task for the local government before the central government manages the long-awaited Melamchi water to fill the dry gigantic water tanks of KUKL. 

 

The combination of Nagarshabha has representatives from different political parties without disturbing the work of the municipality or its people. The mayor must disclose his action plans early and start revising the policies. Moving forward, the mayor must be transparent in his decision-making process to expose the political machinations that delay the work. I strongly feel a need for close door training by an undisputed development process leads to all the representatives in the decision-making process. All must be on the same page.

 

The mayor can begin designing Zero Waste Management Structures while simultaneously inspecting and maintaining the conditions of the roads, lights and sewers through a dedicated team. They can also increase coordination between different departments of the government that look after the physical infrastructures. Currently, there seems to be a lack of interdepartmental coordination while working on roads, electricity and drinking water. 

 

A monitoring committee must form to monitor and control activities going against the current policies and guidelines. By simply implementing existing rules and standards. Many problems in the construction industry, house rent, meat/food industry, public safety transportation etc could be solved. The management of four-legged animals is becoming a nuisance. To manage this, the mayor can engage with kanji house operators, and vaccine and sterilization experts and take action according to their expert advice.

 

Starting a hop-on hop-off bus service that travels through the airport and bus park to touristic areas and back can also change the way tourists get to see Nepal. A 'Bus Service' for women and students and free samples of approved architectural designs of homes for the citizens to select from are gestures to make the citizenry build confidence in their local governance.

 

Finally, instead of having conventions in expensive five-star hotels or poorly managed meeting spaces use. The mayor can ensure that the state of art municipal auditorium is made in priority.

Good Luck to the freshly elected Kathmandu Municipality team and all the elected local government representatives all over the country as well.