Numbering houses

Thanks to Kathmandu Valley Mapping Programme (KVMP), the capital is ready to set its thousands of houses and streets in order. Funded by the European Commission, a new house address system will come in vogue soon, thereby ending the turmoil of identifying and locating houses in this concrete jungle. If everything takes off as planned, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City will distribute new house-numbers to over 130, 000 houses within a year. At a time when houses of different shapes, sizes and colours are mushrooming, the new numbering project does promise relief. But much hinges on how loyal is the KMC to the task it is entrusted with. Mayor of KMC Keshav Sthapit launched the
project on Wednesday and reiterated his commitment to this new responsibility. Urbanites have heard him make pledges innumerable times on various occasions, but most of them have ended in disappointment. This certainly leaves room for doubt and suspicion. That KMC has not been able to dump the capital’s burgeoning garbage in a safe and non-controversial place is something else. Interestingly, it has fared badly on the mapping and organising front too. Overburdened it may be, but the KMC has been turning a blind eye to some problems, dismissing them as a petty matter. And the address system is just one of them.

Based on a European model, and hailed as a popular one among the French-speaking countries, the Metric Addressing System, part of the KVMP, will be carried out in different phases. For this purpose, the city is divided into six areas: West, North Core, South Core, Central, North and West. The 1.4 million rupee project is expected to complete the task within one year. Promising it may sound, but it does leave a gnawing doubt. What has worked properly in Europe may not produce the same results in Nepal. Given our local habits, culture and tradition, and bureaucratic hassles, it will not be a big surprise if the project turns out to be a fiasco. And the urbanites, simply cannot afford and tolerate such experiments. They’ve had enough. In three decades, the address system has been changed twice. Even if the project manages to put up the number plates on houses, who will guarantee the sustainability of the new address system? Will it survive only as long as the grants get pumped in? Making the address system uniform and scientific yet easy and simple is another challenge. The numbering campaign will also do the work of data collection, that will help the KMC in formulating comprehensive policies, as well as in implementing them effectively. Moreover, the address system has to be extended to other districts as well.

Faced with a plethora of problems, very much akin to city life in all developing countries, just getting house numbers will hardly bring complete relief to hundreds of thousands of urbanites. Unnamed gullies reeking with stale garbage, narrow and bumpy motorable roads, not to mention open sewerage and construction materials accumulated nearby are no less hazardous. Addressing these problems are as important as numbering houses. Though belatedly, a programme has kicked off to settle confusion over the house and street numbers. Hopefully, the KMC will deliver this time.

Imperatives of political dialogue over confrontration

By Gokul Pokhrel

The very headline such as this is enough to incur the displeasure of a power-elite aligned to the ruling party. The ministers too are allergic. The Minister for Tourism and Information has repeatedly urged the media persons not to portray the darker side of the problems only. They accuse the media for ignoring the stupendous progress the country has made during the last 11 years of multi-party rule in the country. In their view, the extensive coverage given to the activities of the Maoists, even the trivial ones have only heightened fear psychosis among the public and loss of confidence in the service ranks of the government.

Such concerns may not be unfounded. The government could claim, very legitimately, the emancipation of Kamaiyas from bonded labour including the steps toward land distribution for their resettlement as a landmark accomplishment. Next could be, the finalisation of the contract with the donor agencies on the Melamchi Drinking Water Project. True, in the infrastructure development too, the progress has not been small. But on balance, the disappointments weigh heavy and put the administration on the defensive. The Maoists have emerged as a formidable force capable of challenging the authority of the administration at all levels. That they were able to close all the schools in the Kingdom for a week in May, very well, manifested their prowess beyond doubt. Many citizens criticised the administration for its failure to provide security cover to the schools or projecting a volte-face to boost public confidence. It was an unusual show of strength in which the government had acquiesced to the pressure tactics of the Maoists. Consequently, the public feel demoralised and see no hope of the restoration of a peaceful environment in the foreseeable future.

The sharp deterioration of law and order situation in recent months, has led to virtual clogging of Kathmandu valley with influx of displaced people from the districts. People are flooding from all over the villages and districts for security and safety. The influx of about 100,000 refugees from Bhutan for over a decade is already causing strains in national economy. Over and above, we are having a new problem of internal refugees and displacement of population ? The social and economic implications of which are not yet taken into proper stock by the administration. The situation will continue to worsen in the coming months as the government fails to come up with better policy initiatives to assure the people of secure living at the places where they came from.

The social implications of the influx of displaced people from the rural areas into the valley is getting more serious. Unemployment among the youths is higher than before. Young people are compelled to take up unlawful occupations including day-light thefts, extortions and robbery to make a living, while young girls are allured to the dens of prostitution, whether they are chastised as dance cafes or restaurants.

While crime rate is on the increase, law enforcement agencies have not been effective in gaining control over them. Ironically, the very lapses and shortcomings of the administration have been skilfully exploited by the Maoists in the areas they control, generating immense public support in their favour. Civil cases involving injustice are settled at "people’s courts" resulting in lesser litigation in the district courts. The miscreants are dealt with sternly and public punishments are meted to instantly, generating there - upon enormous public sympathy and support. Apparently, we are heading toward two government systems ? a de jure government confined in the urban areas and de facto government controlling the districts. If the impasse is prolonged, competition will be stiffer than ever in the quality of governance and the results the people would be having from their rulers. The ruling party should be well aware of these disturbing trends as early as possible. By all reckoning, it appears the government is lacking not only the will power to face the situation but also the prudence and strategy of confronting an unusual crisis such as we are facing at present. We are facing a very alarming situation as many of the stalwarts in the ruling elite are smeared in corruption. Evidently, they lack the moral courage and character that could be emulated with respect and reverence by the people. After all, who is going to listen to the stereotype speeches of the corrupt leaders and follow their exhortations at the face of determined threat from the opposition forces?

The UML has already sensed the impending danger, erosion of their strongholds in the districts at the face of ultra radicalism spearheaded by the Maoists. The persistent demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister on corruption charges and sharpened confrontation with the ruling party at all fronts is viewed as a strategy to redeem the losing grounds. Possibly, the UML might be seeking adjustments with the left forces including the Maoists for party gains rather than promote the interests of the people.

Other smaller parties, The RPP and CPN/ML are, indeed, facing a crisis of existence. For them, aligning with the ruling party which is smeared in corruption charges and weakened by internal dissent, might prove counterproductive. It is interesting to find them getting along with the UML in many of their confrontations with the ruling party and on occasions, distancing them from it to the advantage of the ruling party. Should such a situation continue, it is bound to set in a process of sharp polarisation of forging Right and Left alliances including mergers before the advent of the next general elections three years away from now.

It is time that political parties turn inward, introspect into their mistakes and devise ways to refurbish their sinking image. The people would expect them to rise above petty partisan interests and listen to the warning signals coming from a vigilant and critical media, the civil society organisations and the cross-section of the public. Since the political parties themselves are responsible for most of the troubles the country is facing, the start could be made by internal cleansing through self-criticism of their past mistakes. The next could be, formulation of a framework for dialogue among the political parties, the ruling party and the main opposition party in particular, on the approaches to defusing the national crisis as expeditiously as possible.

It will be an added advantage to include members of various professional organisations independent of party influences in the dialogue as an idea enrichment process. In this context, the condition set by the CPN/UML for the resignation of the prime Minister appears as impractical as the unrealistic claim of strength by the Premier simply because his party commands majority in the parliament. For, the numerical superiority is losing impact in the facing of mounting disenchantment of the people and failure of the administration of delivering the goods to the people.

Evaluating husbands

By Laxmi Sharma

Husbands play a vital role in women’s lives. After all, they are our guardian number "2" (I believe number 1 is parents and number 3 is sons). And we join our new world under their charity, leaving everything behind. No need to mention how much moral support, love and affection they should furnish us with. Because these elements boost every one to walk ahead. The query is can every sweet-tempered gentleman be a perfect husband? A perfect husband is what a perfect husband does. I would like to categorize them here from the feminist point of view.

In the first category are those husbands who can walk extra miles to care for their wives- "made for each other type". They give fatherly love to their beloved. They pamper and protect them. Their attitude is Shah Jahan built a Taj Mahal for his beloved and should not we do this much! Wives who occupy this zone are born lucky!

In the second are husbands who are not expressive at all. Wives have to dig mountain to find out whether they love them or not. They are very reserved types. It costs them very dear to divulge some appreciation that the wives deserve. Wives always seem to hanker to find out what is going on in the secret chamber of their hearts and whether they care for their better halves or not. That remains like an unsolved mystery for life long.

In the third column are those who concentrate on the wives’ indispensable needs only. They will take their wives to the hospital if they are sick and provide food if they are hungry. They are nice when their wives are extremely nice to them. They pretend to be liberal and generous but when the time comes they are not. They buoy up to become modish and advanced but when things turn out to be exactly like that then they find it hard to digest.

The last but not least category are those who take their wives for granted. They marry them to manage their homes and have children. They do not want company but a blooming lady who can do the washing cleaning and cooking for them. And that blooming lady should not possess any sentiment or emotion. Husbands in this category do not find their wives fit to share their feelings.

Thus all these different types of husbands are trimming us. And young ladies are supposed to pick up any type on the lottery basis. Religious and cultural dogmas are so strong; wives having wrong categories of husbands can hardly revolt. Always there is a dilemma between love and social pressures. Can you men take up a challenge and categorise us in the same way?

Environment, a global concern

By Anand Vilas Upadhyay

Prior to man there was only nature. Nature was bountiful. Catastrophes were also there but not at the cost of entire nature. They came and went with cruelty but nature always continued to bloom and grow. Nature’s own law created ecological balance.

Nature has provided enough for everybody’s need but not enough for everybody’s greed. Man is the finest creature in all of nature. But today he has become the most cruel of creatures, destroying his own race and habitat for his own greed. Perhaps the Chernobyl disaster was a major cause of the downfall of the Soviet empire. That was the world’s worst accident, in which about 30,000 people died from radiation equivalent to 500 times that of the Atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. At the moment we do not have the magic touch to restore all our lost environment but we can reduce environmental hazard through consolidated efforts. We all are under ecological indebtedness. The environment was the creation of billions of years of evolution and we inherited it from mother nature.

The media has also highlighted these issues. There is not a single day these environmental issues are not focused upon. Since Rio Earth Summit in 1992, billions of words have been spoken and written about environment and its protection, but when the time comes for implementation, the whole issue bogs down " Let us begin." This is the scenario in third world countries which are the most victims of global environmental degradation. The world’s population is also booming at an alarming rate and is expected to cross eight billion by 2025. More than half of its people are still hungry and far below the poverty line. Most of these hungry come from the tropical rain forest areas, which are supposed to be the richest in natural resources and biodiversity. These people are in a very difficult situation because of the deteriorating trend in their own natural environment and habitat.

The world around us is chocking because of global warming, rising ocean levels, acid rain, polluted air, polluted water and polluted food. The hole in the ozone layer and bio-terrorism are also frightening. Bio-weapons are most dangerous. A small change in the DNA of known bacteria or viruses, could turn these agents into mass killers. This is an absolute misuse of biotechnology. At the same time frequent floods, draught, landslides, deforestation and loss of our bio-diversity are threats to all of us. Daily domestic effluent, industrial waste, discharge of toxic chemicals into the rivers and the increased number of automobiles are also adding to pollution levels and health hazards.

Every nation has its own environmental issues which cannot be matched and compared with other nations. All have specific problems of their own. But in totality they all are linked with one another like a chain. They all are linked with the geophysical, geo magnetic and hydro-meteorological systems of the world, regionwise. Therefore, it would be more appropriate, and scientific to study things that line. Nepal and the SAARC region come under the same geophysical structure of the world. The whole region is arched in the north by the great Himalaya, and the Hindukush mountain. This Hindukush-Himalayan is the home of famous rivers of the region like Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Koshi and Karnali. All these rivers are the lifeline of the region and drain into the Indian ocean. This ocean gives rise to the monsoon. Therefore, it would be more wise to think on a regional basis. Nothing can be achieved unless and until there is joint effort by all member countries of the SAARC region. What is lacking is vision and cooperation. Here they are again requested to be merciful with nature by joining hands with all the co-sharers of the region leaving behind past hangovers and dirty politics.

I would also like to draw the attention of scientists not to misuse biotechnology in bio-warfare. Rather they should try to find answers to all our environmental and complex societal issues. The purpose of science and technology is to help understand nature and improve life for the common people. Science and humanity need to co-exist. Our bureaucrats also should be vigilant and more pragmatic in issues of environmental reform. They should try to establish a bridge between the people and government.

Here are a few points to be considered.

- stable and high quality government is necessary

- a separate ecological budget is necessary

- WED should be celebrated as National Day

- there should be a pollution control committee of the SAARC region.

- vulnerable areas must be identified and surveyed beforehand.

- watchdog bodies should be set up at the centre and at village level

- a strong and better monitoring system is necessary

- there should be clear cut policy on greenery, industry, irrigation and population.

- catchy environmental slogans should be raised as the millennium's voice.

- a separate TV channel is needed to highlight nature and the results of disastrous catastrophes.

- there should be control over urban migration with alternatives.

- unauthorized colonies must be demolished with alternatives.

More green parks are needed in cities. There should be a massive tree plantation scheme wherever possible with people’s participation. Planting material should be meant for quick adaptation. Pitching of tents, show business, political and religious activities should not be allowed inside parks. Road side plantations must keep road hygiene in view. Sorting out of planting material must be on the basis of biology, colour, size, aroma and landscaping need.

Normally air gets polluted due to automobiles, use of old vehicles, industrial emission, smoke from chimneys, discharge of toxic gases and chemicals and low quality fossil fuels. We should try to rely more on other sources of energy like solar energy, electricity, gobar gas, and wind mills. Petrol pumps must be graded on the basis of purity of the fuels. Fuel testing labs must also be established. There should be a control on the increase in automobiles, and standard norms. Old automobiles should be banned. Polluting industries must not be located close to residential areas and polluters must be heavily fined. Trees are dust absorbers and air filters, so there must be massive tree plantation with a sense of beautification. Polluting industries and automobiles (government’s as well) must be forced to pay an Eco Tax. It’s also high time to think about the existence of the Chobhar Ciment Factory in the capital city. And the Marble Quarry at Godabari, just at the doorstep of the prestigious Royal Botanical Garden of Nepal. The quarry is still surviving at the cost of our greenery, which is a pity for all of us.

Water problems need good governance. There should be good watershed management and harvesting of rain water. All old and rusted drinking water pipe lines should be replaced. Sewer and drinking water pipe lines should never be allowed to run close, as there is very chance of contamination through leakage. Recycling of water is also one of the methods of tackling water scarcity. Additional check dams and pit holes are necessary. Periodical repairs of all the check dams are equally important. Indiscriminate boring and withdrawal of underground water in the city should be banned because this disturbs the underground flow of water. Better plumbing is most essential for every household.

About 95% of our surface water flows across the border unutilized to India and we are still drought stricken. A feeling of respect towards all our rivers should be developed as they are holy rivers and have sentimental value. A beautification drive is to be launched all along the river side with appropriate greenery. River side patrolling is necessary. Untreated sewage and discharge of waste should always be discouraged. More sewer treatment plants should be installed at intervals. The Bagmati Jaladhar Project is doing a good job. Close to the city area river side open toilets should never be encouraged. More public
toilets need to be installed with a good sanitary system. Unauthorized colonies near the river side should be demolished. And attempts made to develop the riverside as evergreen recreational and amusement parks with continuous flow of clean water.

Dumping sites must always be far from residential areas because of the risk of contamination, infection and epidemics. There must be very efficient separators to separate metallic, degradable, and non biodegradable substances, plastic bags, bottles, jerry cans and used food packets must not be mixed and dumped together in the soil as they can further pollute the air and soil. These sites can be utilized for other purposes.

Our region as a whole is an ecological paradise. It attracts thousands of tourists. This does not mean that there should be free access for everybody. Access should be limited per year to reduce the strain on the environment. The mountains of our region are blessed with natural resources. We can utilize them as a green industry. We should have our own "Environment Protection Act." It is also very encouraging to know that Nepal is in favour of implementing international environmental legal instruments. Following the industrial revolution in the 18th century and the green revolution in 1950’s, it is a high time to think of a new revolution for the production of safe food. If we all will this, it will be global justice for the environment.