National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

Pressure On Cities

The large number of displaced person are seeking refuge in urban areas, putting strain on their inadequate infrastructure

By KESHAB POUDEL

With the insurgency raging in the countryside, the fleeing rural population have cramped on the urban parts of the country putting pressure on its already stretched infrastructures.

With thousands of displaced people fleeing to Kathmandu, the city areas are being encroached. While relatively affluent rural people have started buying the lands in the valley, this has led to a sudden boom in real state business. According to Kathmandu District Land Registration Office, they received average 400 cases of transactions of lands everyday – a considerable rise compared to the previous year.

“The real estate prices have increased by as much as 100 percent in the last two years. Nearly a dozen of private housing complexes have also come into being,” Surya Bhakta Sangachche, acting member secretary of the government’s Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee.

On the other hand, deprived populations who have been similarly displaced have started encroaching public lands. The areas around the river-banks in Kathmandu have been their favorite targets. Small to medium sized shanties have sprouted in the banks of rivers like Bagmati and Bishnumati. “Even the rent prices have gone up considerably,” said Sangachche.

A slum near Bagmati : Illegal enecoachment

According to recent studies conducted by non-governmental organizations, between 80,000- 100,000 internally displaced people are living in Kathmandu valley putting strain on its already over-burdened infrastructures. With the break in ceasefire, even more people are certain to pour to the city for personal safety. Even before the breakdown of ceasefire there were between 150,000 to 200,000 displaced populations currently living in different urban parts of the country.

Krishna Bahadur Thapa, a resident of Surkhet district, a hotbed of Maoists, 500 kilometer west of the capital city of Kathmandu, is now running a mobile shop, selling roasted green-corn on the sidewalks at the heart of city. With a family of five including his wife, two small sons and a daughter, Thapa, 37, fled his native village a year ago and came to capital city to escape the Maoist threat and intimidation back home where he used to be a lowly political worker.

Although the population growth of Kathmandu valley remained high in the last decade, only a few new infrastructures were added. A study conducted by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) recently stated that the population of 12 municipalities including Kathmandu grew by 5.2 percent in the last two years compared to 3.6 percent in 1991-2001.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), one of the five municipalities in the valley, is already facing problems to avert encroachment of pavements by mobile shops.

With relative peace and safety as well as availability of employment opportunities, Kathmandu is the first choice for low level, middle level and affluent class of displaced populations. Be a small vegetable or small grocery or tea stall, the displaced populations are leading the mobile shops trade.

From main streets to pavements and alleys, the mobile shops are creating problems in Kathamandu city. "We have witnessed a sudden surge in mobile shops along the pavements of the city," said Shiva Bhakta Sharma, immediate past chief executive officer of the KMC. “We have deployed 100 municipal police force just too clear road congestions. Other pressures include the crowding in hospitals and schools and deterioration of drinking water supply."

Unable to bear with the increasing population of the valley, the government has resorted to rationing the water supply. There are places in the city where water is supply only on alternate days and that, too, for few hours. "If the population increases at the present rate, the government will have to further ration the water distribution," said Purna Kadariya, director general of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction. The department is responsible in formulating planning and policies about the development of infrastructures in urban areas.

"If present rate of population pressure continues, the existing infrastructures like hospitals, drinking water, roads and schools will not be in a position to cope," said Purna Kadariya, “In the last three years, no new hospitals or schools have been constructed by the government to cater to lower strata of population. Naturally, the existing hospitals and schools, which were already under pressure, are being stretched to their limit by the sudden influx of displaced people.”

The government estimates, however, show minimum number of such displaced people. According to the Ministry of Home, the ministry responsible to maintain law and order and other internal matters, 2514 households were officially registered as displaced families in total. These families, on average, consisted of six family members. This data is based on the distribution of money to displaced population and it does not include the sympathizers of Maoists displaced in the cities. The ministry used to distribute Rs.100 a day for each person till a year ago. This practice has stopped now.

Apart from Kathmandu, victims have swarmed to cities like Butwal, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj, where the situation is even worse.