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Time for action to make Kathmandu livable city

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Kathmandu used to be a paradise, with everybody dreaming to build a house, get a stable job and live happily. In terms of weather, Kathmandu is one of the best places to live in as far as I have known. But over the past few years, things have changed. Kathmandu isn’t the place it used to be.

With thousands of cars running on the streets and plumes of smoke coming out of the tail pipes, Kathmandu’s air quality has deteriorated in a way that has left an impression among people as one of the worst cities in terms of air quality. On the way to Dhulikhel, one can see dozens of brick kilns on either sides of the road running every day. Those factories not simply making bricks, but also adding up pollutants to the already stagnant atmosphere. One does not have to be an environment expert to say that the Kathmandu Valley is polluted. You cannot walk on the streets of the Valley without masks and that indicates how people know it. Even worse is if you get behind a vehicle on the road that runs through diesel. But which fuel one is using may not be the sole determinant of pollution. It’s the same fuel that the rest of the world is using, so how have they managed to keep the air clean is a thinkable matter.

I’ve lived in Little Rock city of Arkansas for almost two years.

The city at that time (2007-08) was considered one of the polluted cities in the United States. The notion of “polluted” was different for me. I was always curious about whether I could see a black cloud of smoke or dust in the air. But, it was totally different. I never saw smoke coming out of any tail pipes and in fact, I did not see open combustion anywhere. An interesting thing is that people abide by the rules and there is always stringent action for those violating it. I don’t think Nepal has existed without any laws so far. Every state has to ensure people’s right to clean air. I guess that is simply a jargon for the lawmakers and enforcers here. Are we aware whether the fuel that we use in our vehicles is lead free or not? Are the coals used in the brick kilns free from Sulphur? Are the waste incinerated daily screened for hazardous materials before burning? Well, all these are obscure for us because we don’t simply care about it. We are not aware what implications these have in our health.

Lead is a toxic substance and might lead to adverse effects, especially among the infants. Likewise, sulphur dioxides are dangerous in terms of the impact it has on our lung function if exposed in heavy concentrations. And there are dozens of such toxic gases that we don’t realise we are breathing. We are exposed to these pollutants almost everyday we get out on the streets. The question is whether we opt to wear masks to avoid these gas or raise our voices against it. This might not be a serious issue for those

who commute on private vehicles with their windows shielded and air conditioning on. But, it is of a grave concern for those who travel on public vehicles or by bicycles or foot and whose income might not be adequate to cover the health costs associated with respiratory problems. 

Well, the issue is not merely about emission, but we live in a place that makes us vulnerable in terms of exposure. The cup shape of the Kathmandu Valley makes it even worse in terms of air quality. Because of its geological makeup, the air in the Valley gets stagnant due to the lower inversion layer—hypothetical layer of atmosphere that occurs due to the temperature differences, within which the particulate matters get trapped and remain stagnant. The problem exacerbates during the winter season and the population is subjected to poor air quality. This is something inevitable. However, lowering or getting rid of the pollution is something we can strive for.

The Government of Nepal with Danish support had installed six pollution monitoring stations in six different locations of the Valley. That is one of the means to know how much particulate matter we have in our environment. However, we do not need an entirely new research to conclude that people in Kathmandu are subjected to air pollution. I believe air pollution here has already reached an alarming point and we are yet to see the worst case scenario. I wouldn’t argue that we do not need any research or inventory of pollutants. My assertion is that one does not have to wait to act against the problem. I got a simple answer to this question on how we can make ourselves free from toxic substances. A few months back, I got a chance to have a conversation with a Professor from an American university who came here on a research visit. He has been around the world and saw the air quality in different places. To him, the air quality in the Kathmandu Valley is perhaps the worst in the world, at least among the places he has visited. He did not monitor any particulate matter nor sulphur dioxide to assert this. But his argument was simply based on his observation.

One interesting thing he told me was the only way to get rid of toxic substances is to ban it. You do not worry about reducing its level or think of some way to neutralise it, simply ban it. I guess the policy makers get some messages out of his simple phrase. If something does more bad than good to us, getting rid of it would be the best solution. I bet every politician and policy maker has had the experience of international visits. That visit should have made them realise how different environment we have been living in. No matter what they realise, I believe it’s high time for the policy makers to spare their busy time from attending meetings and workshops, framing plans and strategies and think and act on it.

source: The Kathmandu post,3 March 2013

(Karki is a researcher at ForestAction Nepal)