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| Kathmandu, Thursday February 20, 2003 Falgun 08, 2059. |
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Potholed roads
Kathmanduites, it seems, will have to live with
muddy roads. In fact, muddy roads which sometimes are fit for rice plantation have become
the hallmark of the otherwise beautiful valley. It takes only a few hours of drizzle to
make them fit not only for vehicles, but also to the pedestrians who have to navigate
their way jumping like frogs from one pothole to another.
For all practical purposes, blame should fall on
politicians who are simply not fit to occupy public offices and civil servants who are too
corrupt to achieve anything good for the people. If the politicians and civil servants are
a disgusting lot, can the people be far behind? Well, frankly speaking, they do not
deserve good governance since much of the problems emanate from them.
Among other things, they are known for throwing
garbage on the road and not bothering to leave out space for roads even if they may buy
enough land to build their houses. This rules out decent lanes and streets, even if the
land is dirt cheap. And to further compound the problem, they, in cooperation with the
Department of Road and Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation dig up the streets and forget
to repair the damage done. This is enough to render the streets fit only for buffaloes to
walk along while the poor pedestrians are left to jump their way out of the problem day in
day out. Imagine the problem faced by them when they have to grope their way back in the
evening with street lights still remaining a pipe dream.
Dron Bahadur Pun
Ring Road, Kathmandu |
