NATIONAL8 (Spotlight Weekly]

Greater Kathmandu

The mayor calls for a stake-holdersí meeting for a better and greater Kathmandu

BY AKSHAY SHARMA

Sthapit : Greater is better

Kathmandu needs to implement a definite strategy for its development before it is too late. Before Kathmandu exhausts its image as the Kingdom of the Gods to something else and an integrated development plan must be devised. None other than the mayor of Kathmandu Keshav Sthapit realizes the need to integrate the surrouding stellite towns of valley into a single administrative zone for integrated development of Kathmandu.

"The cities around Kathmandu should be assimilated in order to successfully implement integrated urban development plan. The government should enlarge Kathmandu by integrating Lalitpur, Banepa, Panauti and Dhulikhel as a single administrative bloc," suggested the mayor, Keshab Stapit.

The plan was proposed while addressing the workshop on drafting Kathmandu Metropolitan City's urban development strategy and the stakeholders meeting.

"This meet will help pave the way towards developing Kathmandu. It is important that an important master plan be laid out for the strategic development of the city," said Hari Rimal.

The population of Kathmandu is growing by six percentage every year. Besides this, the residents are plagued by numerous other problems. We all lack a good supply of clean drinking water. We could definitely use a better drainage facility in the city. The garbage disposal problem of the city seems another Herculean problem for the establishment.

"We are all traveling towards a destination in the same boat. We should always keep in our mind the destination we are supposed to reach and work together to get there. Participation of the private sector and other donor agencies in the development of Kathmandu is necessary for development,î remarked Padma Sundar Joshi .

To achieve the goal the metropolis needs a plan than can be executed. It is important to have comprehensive goals. A common vision for Kathmandu must be shared by all. And everybody needs to work keeping the vision in mind. All government organizations, non governmental organization and donor agencies must work together for the fulfillment of the plan.

If we wish to promote Kathmandu in the future as a "sports city" we must work accordingly.

"If a good strategy is applied at the grass root level the strategy might work," said Surendra Bade Shrestha, mayor of Banepa.

The residents of Kathmandu suffer from too many problems and these problems might hamper the development strategy for the city. The problem of Kathmandu is similar to the problems of Nepal. If we can stop the problems that may arise in the near future that will be a big step for us. Population growth and environment will definitely play a big role in development.

"We sometimes lack laws along with so many things which can be a problem in development," said Bidur Mainali.

It is necessary that Katmandu be livable in the coming years. Better health care, education, security, economic progress, environment and other physical needs are important for the task. It is also important to attract investments and the natural resources must be rightly exploited.

"The cultural,social and historical aspect of Kathmandu must be kept in mind before we implement the strategy. We cannot over rule these valuable aspects of the city by looking only at the economic side. By being successful in this venture we can show the way to city planner around the kingdom. Kathmandu has this responsibility to the rest of the developing cities around the country. The most common problem in the third world that is the gap between rhetoric and reality. We cannot afford this," said Dr Mohan man Saiju.

It's already time something seriously was done for Kathmandu's development . It is important to get out of the dependency syndrome and work on our own for the development of the city. Nepal should not look towards international assistance because we have been able to use only 40 % of our natural resources. We should start depending on domestic sources than depend on external sources. The plans, people and agencies responsible in development should be transparent. People should rise beyond their political idealism and work together for Kathmandu's future.

"I view it all as the Grand Orchestra for Kathmandu. We should each have a notation and we should play accordingly to create sublime music," said Mayor Stapit. There are twelve department and thirty three sub departments in the Kathmandu Municipal Office. They are all working for the development of Kathmandu and it is time that the rest of the population benefiting from this help should help for the development of Kathmandu in turn.