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Kathmandu,Thursday April 27, 2000 Baishakh 15, 2057.
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Will
authorities wake up ?
Today, Kathmandu’s capacity
to dispose garbage is very low compared to the heaps that can be found on the streets.
Kathmandu, once a pristine green
valley, has turned into a stinking bowl. The abominable act of destroying vegetation has
continued unabated and concrete jungles have virtually invaded the valley. Every one, it
seems, is self centred and preoccupied with their individual interests. No one has ever
taken note of the disfigured valley. If individual interest continues to prevail,
kathmandu will soon turn into a desert.
Its not that people haven’t
made tall talks about restoring kathmandu’s original shape and size. But their talks
have always remained confined to either political rhetoric or some foreign funded seminar
at a star hotel. No spadework has yet been done to save the valley.
One can therefore rightfully
question whether the so called environmentally concerned NGOs and INGOs have ever visited
places like Dharapati, Atalkhel, Baneswor, Jorpati areas? These are a few places from
where tonnes and tonnes of sand is being dug out and brutalizing kathmandu valley. The
ugly trend has continued leading to great loss of environment and soil degradation. Does
the solution to the problems lie in the hands of administrators or in the seminars? Due to
lack of strict measures to discourage people, the problem has remained as complicated as
ever.
Another sick tale is the
monopoly market price. Each shop has its own rate. Even in India, the government announces
the price list of every item in the morning through different media. Whereas in Nepal, the
system is maddening. Each businessman has his own price. As a results the citizens are
getting cheated.
Will the authorities ever wake
up to check these ills?
Damien Chettri
Boudha, Kathmandu |
