A Vision for Healing Kathmandu
For decades, a good leader is what the city of Kathmandu has wished for and required. However, this wish has still not completely come true. Some leaders have tried and helped the city but it still has a long way to go. In search of someone who selflessly
Please introduce yourself.
I would like to introduce myself as a health activist who works on early diagnostics. I am someone who loves my country and thinks about the empowerment of people in it. I believe everyone has their own capabilities and I love to do things that enhance these talents. I believe in finding the root cause of the problem rather than polishing it surficially. I believe in showing, not saying. I have created jobs for the people in recent years although I am not completely involved in everything I created. I am trying to be a good citizen overall and I think I am a very compatible person for a developing country, this is how I would like myself to be portrayed.
Running for Mayorship, what are the things that led you to this decision?
I am happy that I could contribute on a personal level when the massive earthquake took place in 2015. Since I am in the healthcare sector, this unfortunate disaster has a destructive aftermath. We saw how unprepared we were at that time and then this triggered me to get the blood bank ready with blood and blood products. I kept working on this and got the logistics fixed for a huge quantity of Transfusion Transmitted Infection testing materials to Nepal Red Cross Society, Blood Transfusion Center. Since then I have tried to find out the root cause and role of management on why things were not happening the right way. Later I was disappointed to find out how every resource is available but the system and mechanism was so hopeless that it just didn't work right for the locals. The same thing happened when we were going through COVID-19, I worked continuously to help people. I saw different people going to various conditions, I understood the sentiments and saw the loss of people. During this process, I got exposed to a lot of issues and challenges created by our system. This led me to research on the management system and this led me to stand up for the candidacy of Mayor of Kathmandu.
What do you think makes you eligible for the people’s vote? What makes you different from the previous mayors?
One of the positions which is directly elected by the people is the mayor which is one of the structural heads of governance and there is no requirement for being involved with political parties. This position is supposed to be as politically neutral as it can be. People have this huge power to elect their mayor. Can leverage my managerial skills learned during so many years working with many multinational companies. I can clearly understand, dealing with the inconvenience of Kathmandu being the elder clan of the Valley. I am eligible for the post because I am carrying the agenda of people and not the political interest. I want to take time to manage the city, solving the root cause and arranging for permanent solutions to the long standing problems. A lot of promises have come that miss the depth in analyzing the root cause of the problem. Everybody talks about managing the problem but no one talks about the sustainable process with right input. I think my thoughts and plans are what makes me different from the crowd of mayor aspirants.
How will you solve the major issues of Kathmandu like waste management, air pollution, traffic management, security and many more?
I am just trying to adopt an internationally tested better system as I do not need to be creating a new system. Technologies should be introduced in the city and the work will be better and faster than what people have been expecting. It is more about accepting the problem and taking actions against the unacceptable. We need to make children feel burden-free of education, educating should be fun and practical. The transportation should be comfortable and electric vehicles can be introduced. There are so many ways out how to reverse all these practices.
What is your visionary programme?
My basic visionary program is to first correct processes of these major 4 aspect of city that matters the most:
A. Service and Security
B. Culture and Heritage
C. Environment
D. Optimal balance between Development and Business
I want to stop the wrong and reverse it to the right. Healing Kathmandu is much more important than adding more structural scars in it. I want to create start up ideas for the youngsters and create employment for them in the country. I want to create curiosity among the graduates and start business in our own local sectors. I want to create a separate transport for females for the safety purpose. I also want to start a daycare for elderly and uplift their days. Well managed Geriatric Hospital, water body in Kathmandu and once again creating greeneries around clean rivers obviously are great initiatives to jump into.
Do you have a slogan? Can you define it for me?
“सफा र सभ्य
सुरक्षीत र भब्य
मेरो काठमाडौं” is one of my major slogans.
Choosing the right leader is the first step to initiate the process of reclaiming the glorious face of the ancient Kathmandu city and promote the civic sense in citizenry, making the city clean and secured for all of us. Being the front face of the country for the rest of the world this magical city deserves a great feel of safe management.
Not being associated with any political parties, do you think this is an advantage or a disadvantage?
It is a disadvantage if you see from the lens of politically polluted people and these people are a lot if we merge all political parties. But still there are people who are not blinded by the political folds and I think this is an advantage for me. I can get help and trust from these people and make them understand the importance of a good leader. The only challenge is to make people aware about my plans and programs. Political parties aren’t my challenge but winning people’s trust is.
What is necessary for change?
Talking about the change we don't just need to manage the problem but we need to reverse the process. We are trying to find places to dump waste rather than recycling or managing it. We have to implement zero waste. There are 5 things that need basic change in Kathmandu. The waste management, the education system, health care, the elderly care and the transportation system. We don't just need some tweak in the process but rather reverse everything from the start.
Sushil Thapa is actively working for the betterment of the city even when he doesn't hold any political position. We believe he will work better with the help of the government and the people of Kathmandu. He carries a vision of healing, a vision of empowerment and a vision of scalable quality of life for people.
