KMC okays over one lakh illegal buildings

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, May 10:

Over one lakh illegal buildings of the capital will be "legitimatised" soon, thanks to some money-seeking ward chairmen and rumour of nearing local election. A dozen "enthusiastic" ward chairmen are putting pressure in the municipal councils for time so that all the illegal houses in the city are made to pay fat fines. These illegal houses were constructed either by overlooking the regulations or by paying bribes to municipal staff. The concerned officials at Kathmandu Metropolitan City admit that as many as 70 percent of the total number of houses is constructed illegally. Among them, 50 percent are totally against the law while others have made minor changes, which are tolerable. Around 4,000 houses are built in the city each year and it is estimated that there are 180,000 houses in the city, though KMC itself does not have exact data of the houses.
Keshav Dwaj Rana, newly-appointed ward 9 chairman has taken the illegal construction around the city as a major source of income. "We cannot demolish the illegal constructions in the city. So, it is better if we make them all legal, and collect revenue which we need to as election is nearing us," he proposed to the board. Mayor Keshav Sthapit, is said to be “impressed” by the idea and has formed a committee to recommend on this. The team is yet to give green signal to the plan.
Indra MS Suwal, the chief of Urban Development Department and the coordinator of the team, looks cautiously at the proposal. He said that the political decision might boomerang KMC in long term. He said that the decision may give clean chits to wrongdoers but it would not be technically justifiable. "KMC will has to be responsible if such faulty constructions collapse or cause damage to life and property to others," Suwal said.
The recent plan in KMC has created a big fury among the urban planners and seismologists. "It is suicidal. If the KMC makes such a ridiculous change, putting the live of millions in danger, it should be condemned," said Bharat Sharma, senior urban planner and former deputy chief of Department of Urban Development. He said that instead of implementing the Building Code, KMC is regularising all the crimes of the citizens in the petty interest of some revenue," he said.
Similarly, Amod Mani Dixit, the secretary at National Society of Earthquake Technology Nepal said that the regularisation process only promotes others to construct more illegal houses.
"The vulnerability will be there either KMC regularises the illegal houses or not. And it would promote more illegal constructions and those who had followed the regulation would feel being cheated," Dixit said.
[ KATHMANDU, MAY 11, 2004, Baisakh 29, 2061 ]

Government mulls narrowing down heritage sites

Razen Manandhar

Kathmandu, May 1 (2004):



While heritage experts are clamouring that the government retain the
world title of World Heritage List for Kathmandu Valley, the
government itself is working secretly to narrow down monument zones
in the name of saving the title.

Government officials have come up with a strange proposal
to "safeguard" the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO List of World Heritage in
Danger - self-delist problem-prone areas and only keep the monuments
safe.

The Department of Archaeology (DoA) held a seminar last week attended
by selected participants, which busied itself with narrowing down the
monument zones. It proposed to delist all traditional settings of the
residential Newari houses around the historic palaces of Kathmandu,
Patan and Bhaktapur. The proposal also confined it to the temples of
Pashupatinath and Changu Narayan. It proposed naming only the stupas
of Swayambhu and Boudha as monument zones, and not their
surroundings. In any case, these surroundings have been either
deliberately destroyed or are crowded with hundreds of concrete
Tibetan monasteries and walls. The seminar itself evoked differences
of opinion, participants revealed.

DoA officials refused to comment on the proposal but said that it was
a part of the seminar. It is expected that the officials will
formally present the proposal of the narrowed down zones to UNESCO
delegates at the international seminar taking place next week.

The World Heritage Committee, the UNESCO body which lists all the
World Heritage Sites of the world, has nudged the government
repeatedly over the deterioration of monument zones. The
international missions found little or no improvement during their
visits. Ultimately, on June 30, 2003, the Valley was put ultimately
in the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. The UNESCO document
stated, "The Kathmandu valley zones witnessed uncontrolled urban
development around thereby affecting the traditional heritage, the
landscape and the architectural fabric of the properties."

Keshav Raj Jha, former ambassador to France and representative to
UNESCO, told this daily, "The proposal surprised me. I must say it is
foolish and ridiculous." Jha added it was a case of killing one son
among seven just because he was not doing well, for the sake of
social status. "International convention does not allow it. If it
happens, the World Heritage sites will get confined to a bedroom or a
small temple," he said.

Prof Jiv Raj Pokhrel, heritage expert and president of the Nepal
Engineers' Association, said the government ought to extend the sites
in order to prove to the world that Nepal possesses unparalleled
cultural heritage. "Instead, efforts are being made to minimise it.
We should at least keep the inscribed sites, if we cannot expand
their scope," he said.

Om Chanran Amatya, chairman of Bhaktapur Heritage Groups, said
concrete houses around monument zones had mushroomed around the
zones, probably as a result of bribe-taking by government officials
or municipal bodies.

"It is a dishonour to our heritage," Amatya added.

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Not convincing The government's new proposal to narrow down monument
zones in the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site � a conglomeration
of seven UNESCO-identified monument zones � has been perceived as an
idea leading to gradual phasing out of the monuments of lesser
opulence but which in fact are recognised by the Western world as the
unique fabric of Nepali culture. It is understandable that the latest
step based on the "zoom-out approach" to concentrate conservation
efforts on any specific monument of international repute within a
zone might as well have been prompted by fund constraints, among
others. But that such a drastic and narrow approach should be adopted
to preserve the Sites � each one often described by experts as an
open museum � especially in the aftermath of the Kathmandu Valley
World Heritage Site being inscribed in the List of World Heritage in
Danger last July, bodes ill for the country's conservation endeavours.

Any heritage site, not to mention Kathmandu Valley, comprises a range
of other components such as its people and their culture, art,
architecture and life style. Take away any one of these and the
mosaic becomes that much more incomplete. Similarly, to ignore the
minor edifices, as the plan appears to have envisaged, which have
served as eloquent expressions of Nepali heritage, is but to render
the landscape of Nepali heritage picture a bit more fuzzy. It is true
that redefining the borders of these monument zones would no doubt
make the task of preserving them better. But the Kathmandu Valley
Preservation Trust and other agencies concerned should not be too
inflexible in their approach while delimiting the borders. This will
offer an excuse to undesirable elements in and around the Sites to
poach on the tangible as well as intangible cultural values embodied
in them.

If, for example, the proposal to delist traditional settings of the
residential Newari houses around the historic palaces of Kathmandu,
Patan and Bhaktapur is true, it is hard to conceive how this will
contribute to the conservation of the core heritage monuments. To
some extent, the peripheral structures have been acting as buffer
zones, as a protective shield until now. With the collateral edifices
about to be delisted, it is hard to visualise how a sustainable
action plan involving different stakeholders can be worked out.
Careful guidelines will have to be chalked out for the local
management committees engaged in conservation. Unless the government
presents a convincing case to the World Heritage Centre in Paris
saying how the latest proposal will help preserve the monuments, it
is unlikely that Nepal will succeed in wooing the Centre to delist
the Valley from the danger list.

Waterless days ahead in Valley

Waterless days ahead in Valley

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, March 13[2004]:

Water scarcity is something the Kathmanduites have learnt to cope with — admirably or stoically. But when the summer peaks this time, it could perhaps be a different story.
This year, water scarcity has broken all records. In most areas, people used to get water on alternate days but this year they will get water once in four days, and that too, hold your breath, for just an hour.
Mangal Karmacharya of Jyatha is a computer wizard. He wakes up at up at 3.30 am daily for a bucket of water or two from the hand-pump. Like him, all city dwellers lament they are unable to sleep because water is distributed at odd hours - midnight or early morning.
Since last month, water crisis has become a nightmare in Yangal, Om Bahal, Khichapokhari, Duganbahil, Mahaboudha, Ason, Teuda, Jyatha, Chhetrapati, Sorhakhutte, Tahachal and Baneshwor. Tahachal folks haven’t seen a drop for four months. They cough up Rs 300 per month for water — water of sorts.
The Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) says it is unable to provide more than half the demand during January to April. The total demand for drinking water in Kathmandu is 177 million litres per day but the government provides only 90 million litres. At least 41 million litres of water is lost because of leakage everyday.
Lajana Manandhar, executive director of Lumanti and a member of the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, says the government is not serious. “Commitment is lacking. For the last decade, we are hearing about foreign loans, new projects but the water problem is unsolved,” she said. According to NGOs, more than a hundred reports have been tabled on water and sanitation issues but water remains a distant dream.

Supply and demand
• Total water demand - 177 MLD (million litre per day)
• Production capacity - 132 MLD
• Average production - 112 MLD
• Dry Season production - 90 MLD
• Wet Season production - 130 MLD
• Leakage and Wastage - 41 MLD
Source: NWSC, 2001
= = =
Saga of inaction
• 1988 - Consultants from UK identified an inter-basin tunnel from Melamchi valley as the best plan
• 1991 - World Bank/IDA project 8 years project loan for $ 71 million to upgrade distribution network and increase supply in Kathmandu
• 1997 - Donors said that the government should bring in a private operator to manage the water system assets and make this a condition for loans and grants to support the Melamchi investment.
• 1999 - At the end of the WB/IDA project only $ 8.5 million could be spent. WB criticized itself for an inadequate project design.
• 2000 - Urban Water Supply and Wastewater Sector Strategy for Kathmandu Valley released.
• ADB approved a loan of $120 million for Melamchi
• 2001 - Government announced that Melamchi tunnel construction is scheduled to be complete in 2007.
• 2001 - ADB consultant reported on the establishment of the National Water Supply Regulatory Board and Kathmandu Valley Water
Authority (KVWA)
Source: Water Aid Nepal
[KATHMANDU, MARCH 14, 2004, Chaitra 01, 2060
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Vehicle-free New Road on the cards

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, February 2[2004]

Every street has its day...And so, Kathmandu's busiest street and commercial hub, New Road, which also has the distinction of being the country's first ever two-way road, is waiting for its day to say 'no' to vehicles. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is thinking of converting New Road into an open entertainment-commercial ground where only pedestrians will be allowed.
New Road was built on the rubble of those hundreds of mud-and brick houses that collapsed in the 1934 earthquake. After the road was constructed, it was wider than people had expected. Popularly known as "Elephant Walk", it was named Juddha Sadak after the then prime minister Juddha Samsher, who designed it. "The current chaotic scene in New Road will no longer be there. Instead, it will be an open street where everything except vehicles will be allowed," said Mayor, Keshav Sthapit.
According to the KMC master plan, people wishing to use the main road will have to leave their vehicles in area around Sundhara or RNAC building. From New Road Gate to the Juddha Samsher statue chowk and Basantapur, open bistros, coffee shops and shopping malls in the middle of the road will enliven the atmosphere. Bhugol Park will be expanded to become a part of the new New Road. The building which houses the Nepal Investment Bank will be demolished. However, old landmarks like the pipal tree, newspaper stands around it and the shoe-shine spots will stay. Until 1990, the spot was a popular haunt of politicians and journalists.
Sthapit voiced his dream, "This will be a hub for the youth to spend time with their dear ones and to be mentally rid of violence, terror and negativity. Artistes will perform on the street to amuse passers-by and make the scene more romantic." Ward 23 chairman, Siddananda Bajracharya, said that the local ward chairmen had not been duly informed of the proposed changes. He demanded that the project provide special facilities for locals who would otherwise face practical problems.
Amrit Man Shrestha, a KMC advisor, said that the project would take some time to kick off. "The process is likely to begin with a facelift of old Bhugol Park.”
[ KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 03, 2004, Magh 20, 2060 ]
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KMC plans big budget without enough cash

Razen Manandhar

Kathmandu, December 5[2003]:
Five months after the beginning of the fiscal year 2003/04, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is preparing to make public a budget, which, the insiders say, will be three times bigger than the previous one. The mega-budget will be made public within a week.

According to KMC officials, a Budget Preparatory Committee, led by deputy mayor Rajaram Shrestha, is preparing to present an annual budget of Rs 2.98 billion for this fiscal year. Last year, the KMC had approved a budget of Rs 808 million.

The KMC plans to spend a sum of Rs 2,985,544,633.22

this year. Out of it, Rs 2,189,579,863 (78.94 per cent) will be spent on improvement of urban infrastructure, while Rs 584,047,270 (21.06 per cent ) will be spent on administration.

According to an official, the KMC has committed to provide only Rs 1.45 billion from its resources. No one at the KMC knows from which source the rest of the money � Rs 1.35 billion � will come. �It is a dream project. Such a mega-budget, at a time when the roles to be played by the mayor and other representatives is quite unclear, is bound to raise controversies,� says an officer.

Some of the KMC officers maintain that the projects that were expected to be completed last year have not been completed yet because of political meddling and corruption controversies. That is why, there is no reason to come up with such a budget. The KMC administration should focus on completing the unfinished projects, they say.

�Last year, the KMC had estimated to have spent Rs 22.3 million management of land-fill site alone and Rs 2.5 million on heritage conservation. But it is yet to be examined whether the

KMC spent that money properly. Similarly, it also said that Rs 2.5 million will be spent on management of the City Hall, which is still a dream project,� another KMC officer says.

Amrit Man Shrestha, an adviser to the Budget Committee, said, �though the proposed budget is comparatively bigger, it can see the light of the day if government sanctions loans.�

Govt, local bodies encroach ponds in Kirtipur

Razen Manandhar
Kirtipur, November 8

Dozens of ponds around the medieval hillock of Kirtipur, around 8 km south
west of Kathmandu, are being encroached by government and local
institutions.

Strategically, Kirtipur is one of the well-designed settlements of the Malla
period. The hillock was surrounded by walls and there was a trench which
also served as a canal for irrigation. The trench later turned into ponds.

But due to rapid urbanisation, these ponds have been encroached. As a
result, hardly any of them have water and most of them have already been
turned into private buildings, campuses, libraries and health posts.

"We used to see fish in these ponds some 15 years ago and the water was also
used for farming. But God knows, what has happened to our town, nobody is
interested in its conservation," said Krishna Lal Maharjan, a farmer,
pointing towards a grassy patch of land near a swimming pool.

Local Nikhashi Pukhoo was turned into Shahid Campus, Bhni Pukhoo became
Ilaka Police Office, and one Palye Pukhoo has been turned into a Health
Clinic. Another Palye Pukhoo is on its way of being turned into a
multi-purpose building, under a controversial project of the Kirtipur
Municipality.

According to Shukra Sagar Shrestha of the Department of Archaeology, the
ponds one can find today used to serve the town as a security trench. "These
ponds are the evidence of urban planning of the medieval civilisation," he
said, adding that if the ponds cannot be revived then they should be
utilised as parks so that excavation projects can also be taken up.

The Palye Pukhoo of Ward No 4 on which the Kirtipur Municipality has decided
to construct a multi-purpose building, is an ancient one, which has a
special cultural purpose of offering lotus flowers to the Buddhist temple of
Chilanchwo.

Gyan Ratna Bajracharya, a member of Chilanchwo Bhagwan Guthi said the trust
for the Chilanchwo had 60 ropanis of land, out of which 56 ropanis had been
acquired by the Tribhuwan University and the remaining four ropanis is being
targeted by the municipality.

"We had been offering lotus flowers to Chilanchwo for ages. But we later
stopped this practice as the government withdrew our facilities. Later on,
some social organisations started keeping fish in the pond, which also
disappeared," he said. He has been fighting alone to save the ponds. The
Guthi Sansthan has stated that the ponds have historic value and hence
should be conserved. However, the municipality has not give up the idea of
construction which has generated controversy in the past two weeks.

The deputy mayor of Kirtipur Municipality Panna Ratna Bajracharya said that
the protests would not affect the municipality's decision. He did not
release the technical details and estimated budget of the building.

Meanwhile, the officers of Local Development Ministry said that the
municipality should not take up construction work on public land. "Specially
cultural properties like ponds are the local heritage. The municipalities
should conserve instead of destroying them," he said.

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Government nod for Nepal Era, finally

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, October 26

The government today finally recognised the Nepal Era as the national calendar.

The movement started 24 years ago by the Nepalbhasa Mankaa Khalaa (NMK) to recognise the era was initiated by a Nepali, Sankhadhar Sakhwaa, the legend goes. The Nepal era follows the lunar system, by which most of Nepal's festivals are determined.

"The Nepal Era has got national recognition now, there is no doubt," Minister for Information and Communication Kamal Thapa said today, adding the Nepal Era should be used widely in public and ways to use it practically should be discussed.

Thapa was addressing a programme to launch a new postage stamp with the portrait of Sakhwaa who was recognised as the National Luminary by the government on November 18, 1999.

According to the legend, written in Bhasa Cronicle, Sakhwaa initiated the Nepal Era after he got citizens of Kathmandu out of their debts. That was possible as he got a huge treasure during the reign of King Raghav Dev. He had seen some porters bringing sacks of sand from the Bishnumati river on an auspicious day as per the king's order. Sakhwaa thought of it as extraordinary and bought the sand himself. On the next day, on October 20, 879 AD, the sand turned into gold powder with which he could let people be free of their debts and he, then, initiated the era.

Minister Thapa said all Nepali citizens are indebted to Sakhwaa, adding the contributions of "this great person" should not be confined to a small territory or any one community, but should be considered as national heritage.

Naresh Bir Shakya, secretary

of NMK, said though they have been raising the issue of recognising the Nepal Era by the state for the past 24 years, previous governments never acted. "I think it is a great achievement of the NMK movement. Now, people will be inspired to use the Nepal Era in public, too," he added.

In 1980, the NMK had started the movement to demand not only recognition from the state but also exchange New Year greetings. The movement also worked as a platform to protest against the Panchayati System before 1990, but later it turned into a cultural festival.

Nepal Era was the official calendar for over a thousand years in the history of the Kathmandu Valley and today it serves historians for study of historical documents all of which have dates from the ninth to the 19th century according to the Nepal Era.

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Stolen ancient idol on its way back

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, October 22[2003

The 400-year-old masterpiece from Patan, which was stolen 19 months ago
and was about to be sold to a museum in Austria, is to be returned to
Nepal, thanks to some Buddhist sympathisers and scholars of Austria.

The 1.2-metre tall gilded head of Dipankar Buddha was stolen on February
16, 2002 from its caretaker's house at Chibah Nani in Nag Bahal. The
trust members reported the theft to the

District Police Office but in vain. The idol was discovered later when a
German art dealer, Peter Hardt, tried to sell it to Dr Schicklgruber,
the curator for South Asian art of the Ethnographic Museum in Vienna, at
a price of $200,000 (Rs 16 million) in May 2002. When it was identified
as a stolen object by scholars of University of Vienna, with the help of
the Buddhist community of Lalitpur, the matter was reported to the
Interpol and the case taken to the court, which has now ordered to
return the image to Nepal.

"A series of lucky incidents led to the idol's discovery," Dr Alexander
v Rosatt, who had been involved in rescuing the stolen idol, told The
Himalayan Times today. He hoped that this particular incident would set
an example and it would make the smuggling of ancient art objects more
difficult in the future.

A special function is being organised on Friday in Kathmandu to hand
over the idol to the rightful owners. As Nepal does not have separate
Austrian ambassador to Nepal, the Austrian ambassador to India, Jutta
Setfan Bastl, is coming here with her credentials to hand over the idol
to the trust members through officials of Ministry of Culture, after
receiving credentials from King Gyanendra on the same day.

The idol would be flown free of cost courtesy Austrian Airlines and the
additional insurance and handling expenses will be met by local trust
members. Nepali government has not spent anything for the grand return.

It is the third instance when a stolen ancient idol is being returned to
Nepal, largely due to the efforts of the destination countries.

A local heritage lover said before the stolen object ended up with a
western art dealer, it was burgled by locals, sold by Nepali middlemen
and exported with the connivance of Nepali government officials.
According to him, it was officially exported with the proper
documentation of the Department of Archaeology.

"Unfortunately the western art dealer preferred to keep mum and the
Nepalis, including the government officials, involved in the smuggling
have escaped the net," said another expert on cultural heritage.
[The Himalayan Times (Kathmandu), October 23, 2003]

Lakhe culture in jeopardy

Razen Manandhar

Kathmandu, September 13[2003]:
The tradition of dance of the red-haired `demon' Lakhe, a popular
emblem advertised for attracting tourists to Nepal, now faces a
crisis of existence as the government hardly shows any interest in
conserving the age-old cultural heritage.

The Lakhe is taken around Kathmandu streets during the eight-day
Indrajatra that ends on Sunday from Lakhenani in Mazipat. The Newar
families of Ranjitkars, the traditional dyers, have kept the
tradition of Lakhe alive, though hardly any of them are now involved
with dyeing.

According to historians, the tradition began as early as in the
seventh century, though opinions vary about the exact date. A popular
legend has it that a man-eating demon fell in love with a local
farmer girl and married her on the condition that he would protect
the city and stop eating human flesh. The dance is to honour the
Lakhe's keeping of its pledge.

Today, people worship the masked dancer as a God and offer coins.
However, the rich culture is on the verge of extinction as the
government's annual contribution of Rs 7,000 to a trust meant to keep
the tradition alive is insufficient to carry out the rituals even for
a day. The trust has to manage lunch for 20 persons and dinner for
around a hundred guests each day, resulting, obviously, in financial
crunch.

"Problems? The arrival of Indrajatra itself is a problem for us,"
Binod Ranjit, the chief of Sri Lakhe Aju Guthi, the organising trust,
said. He joined the trust as a three-year-old boy, playing the role
of Jhyalincha, the naughty teaser of the demon. And after dancing as
a Lakhe for almost a decade, he is now head of the management team.
However, for livelihood, he has to work as an electrician and sell
wares on the streets at Sundhara in the evenings.

The trust does not have any money to pay the dancers and other
volunteers, who contribute their time and energy. Still, to keep the
tradition of Lakhe alive, the trust members shell out money from
their own pockets to accrue around Rs 50,000 every year. "But how
long can it go on like this? With the changing times, one day you
might hear that the Lakhe could not come out on the streets for that
year because of lack of funds," Ranjit said.

With the government showing no interest in providing security for the
Lakhe dance troupe, they often have to face gangsters and looters on
the streets, particularly at night. Ram Ranjit, a volunteer, said
while the tradition of Lakhe itself faces extinction, a large number
of `fake' Lakhe dancers are earning moolah in hotels and other
cultural programmes by exploiting the tradition.
[Kathmandu, 24, September, 2003]

Lessons Learnt

When the Yetkha Bahal was chosen for conservation by the UNESC and LVPT, little did the conservations know of the challenges that lay ahead.

Razen Manandhar

Kathmandu is beautiful not just because of the seven monument zones that have been recognized by the government as well as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). But besides these too there are innumerable temples, stupas, monasteries and other heritages that are equally elegant and have cultural significance.

A notable example is Yetkha Bahal. Located at the core of old Kathmandu, is about a five minute-walk from the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square. If you walk from Maju Dewal of Hanumandhoka to Naradevi, a small lane on your left will take you to a open quadrangle.

The courtyard

it is big quadrangle – bigger than a football ground – with a giant while Buddhist stupa at the centre. Around 80 residential buildings, sporadically reconstructed, surround the brick-paved square. Originally, such quadrangles are meant to be shrines or monasteries. There must have been a temple like construction, called Dyo-chhen, and the rest of the surrounding two-floor buildings used to be classrooms, meditation halls or dormitory for the celibate monks.

There are around three dozen such monasteries, categorized as 'Bahals' or Bahils', in Kathmandu alone but none of them today has monks studying Buddhism. By 18^th century, the Bajracharyas and Shakyas, "the masters of thunderbolt" and "venerable ones", who are said to be the rightful residents, forgot the essence of what they were.   They got rid of monkhood and so, their titles, these days, have become mere surnames. They not only started claiming the shrine as their own property, but also have dismantled the fabric of monastery and replaced them with new constructions, throwing all the elaborate pieces away.

100-year-old-picture shows that a homogeneous row of two-story buildings, all with slopped, tied roofs, stood there at Yetkha Bahal. But most of the buildings today are no more than 40 feet tall – all made of concrete with contrasting colours and designs.

The Dyo-chhen

Just opposite the entrance, across the stupa, there lies an old three-storied building – Dyo-chhen, or the "home of the god". There is an idol of Akshyabhya Buddha on the ground floor and the upper floor contains a secret chamber where only the initiated Bajracharya priests can worship.  Only a few are aware today that it is the only reminder of the original feature of the courtyard. This is a piece of architecture that has few comparisons in the whole Kathmandu Valley.

"It is unique from every angle. You can say that it is a jewel of the Newar civilization that flourished in the Kathmandu Valley from the fifth century," says Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar, an architect and expert of the valley monuments, Kathmandu Valley Conservation Trust (KVPT).

It's "torana" and struts are something you cannot find elsewhere in the valley. Experts claim that parts of the original building could be seven to eight hundred years old. The undated "torana" has a motif similar to those of cave art of India. Similarly, the struts with images of Yakshinis are also equally antique. Only in Itumbahal, Okubahal and the temple of Indreshwor (Panauti) possess such struts. The gloomy sanctum of the ground floor contains a small and ordinary looking idol, recently installed after the original one was stolen decades back.

The Dyo-chhen originally belonged to a guthi (trust) of the Tamrakars, the traditional coppersmiths. It was intact till 1968, as shows a picture taken around that time. In around 1980, the guthi members, instead of carrying on the legacy, hired on Bajracharya (priest) who performed daily rituals at the shrine daily and in return, got to live in the temple. Time passed, and the priest was found with an crafted land ownership certificate. Still, he never took pain to conserve the monument. So much so, they did not repair the shrine when the five-faced window fell to the ground in 1985. And the dilapidated condition did not bother the Tamrakars either.

Conservation

After over four years, the restoration of Yetkha Bahal Dyo-chhen has been completed. It was a project jointly carried out by the KVPT, an NGO working in the restoration sector for the past one decade, and the UNESCO.

According to the project officials, the venture cost around 2.7 million for restoration. For this the Sumitomo Foundation provided $ 23,000 while KVPT collected a fun of Rs. 12,500 from various sources. The project began in April 2002 though the paperwork and preparation began as early as 1998.

Challenges

It is a success story, if we look at it superficially. But one wonders that the 'guthi' members not only refused to help but also kept hindering the process. The officials from UNESCO and KVPT selected the Dyo-chhen looking at the beauty and antiquity of the monument. But they were unaware of the problems that lay behind the beautifully carved doors. Before the project ended, the technicians expressed: "It was a mistake. A bad choice, indeed."

The trust members did not disclose the ownership problem earlier, but as everything was ready, the fake owner refused to have the monument resorted. Finally, the project had to decide that it would buy back the monument for the restoration's sake. Still, the guthi members provided only less than half of the total amount to buy building for themselves, while KVPT and Katmandu Metropolitan City jointly provided the rest of the amount.

The owner just turned their back on the project and after it was completed some weeks ago, the owners went to the project office and demanded modern electric fittings be provided and the walls be painted, etc, which are against the norms of conservation. In addition, some even asked that a party be organized for the guthi members and the neighbours, and refused to take the key of the moment until their demands were fulfilled.

This is a ridiculous incident in the history of foreign assistance for conservation. Due to similar attitude of Nepali owners, either private or the government, donors have shows little interest in providing financial assistance to us.

Undoubtedly, the sole responsibility of restoring the monument falls on the shoulders of the locals who are proud of their heritage. It the government is found indifferent in this regard, the locals should come forward as most of them belong to well-to-do families.

There are hundreds of monuments awaiting conservation but there is little hope from the owners that they would conserve their legacy. Is the Yetkha Bahal conservation project putting a full stop on future possibilities of foreign donation for conservation programmes in collaboration with the local owners?

Timely construction of overhead bridges always a dream

By Razen Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Nov 10 [2002]: What could be a better example of the pace of the capital’s development than an overhead bridge that was supposed to have been built in two months but has not been completed after a whole year? Considering that five other overhead bridges, which were to be constructed in the meantime, are nowhere in sight, the whole project appears doomed.

Following a grand religious launching in November 22 last year, the constructing company, Innovative Concept Nepal (ICN), had promised that the three-million-rupee-bridge close to the Bhadrakali temple, would be completed in two months. The bridge still requires the final touches before being opened for public use.

Two years ago ICN won the lucrative contract for building six overhead bridges with the stipulation that their revenue would be from leasing commercial space and shutters. It was required to pay Rs 120,000 annually to KMC, apart from bearing the cost of their construction.

A flower-seller at the nearby Bhadrakali temple said that the uncompleted construction has become an eyesore for the public and the government offices around it. "The construction works disturbed the flow of traffic for the whole year as workers stored construction materials along the road due to lack of open space around the site. It caused quite a few traffic accidents beneath the bridge during construction," said he.

Pedestrians remain confused at not being allowed to use an almost complete bridge especially when the vehicle drivers do not control their speed there, seeing the bridge across the road.

"I see the bridge there but it is yet to be used. I don’t know whether I should climb on the stairs or cross the road, defying the speeding vehicles," said Kul Man Maharjan, an elderly pedestrian. He said that the KMC talks too much but works at a snail’s pace.

Though five other bridges were to be built during the interim period, at Ratnapark, Tripureshwor, Chabahil, Balaju and City Bus park in two phases, there are no signs of any construction at any of these sites. However, Director General of ICN, Paras Mani Baral said that the overhead bridge at Bhadrakali would be open to the public shortly.

"I believe we will be able to open the bridge in a week. There will be an inaugural function and we are hopeful that we will be able to lay foundation stones for the other bridges on that date," he said. Baral admitted that the construction of the bridge was "quite slow" blaming lack of working space at the site for delay.

Officials at the KMC maintain that they repeatedly urged and even warned the private company to finish the construction, but they could see no progress. "We really had a bad time with the ICN people. We repeatedly requested them to speed up the work but the result was never satisfactory," said Jyoti Bhushan Pradhan, former Chief of Public Works Department of KMC.

The agreement between the KMC and the ICN was made as early as in November 2000. The ICN also agreed to increase the "royalty" to KMC by five percent per year.
[Kathmandu, Monday November 11, 2002 Kartik 25, 2059.]
http://www.nepalnews.com/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/nov/nov11/local1.htm

This Kumari needs not follow strict rules

By Razen Manandhar

BHAKTAPUR, Oct 19:Rukmani Devi Shakya, in her early 40s, gives the love and honour to her five-year old daughter Sajani Shakya that must be much more than any mother in the whole world can give.

For her as well as the most people of Bhaktapur, the little girl is a Living Goddess, a Kumari. This has been a tradition in Bhaktapur since the 14th century along with similar traditions in the other ancient Newar cities of Kathmandu and Lalitpur.

The Goddess is about to finish the fifteen-day-long special puja she receives during the festival of Dashain. She resides at her building at Prasannashil Mahavihar for the fifteen days of the Dashain and observes all ceremonial rites from here. For the rest of the year, she is free to go to her parents.

Even her mother calls her Kumari Maju, using the honourable title meaning ‘Mother Kumari’. She communicates with her daughter in the most respectful and honorific form of the language and waits patiently to fulfil any task the Kumari desires.

Mother Shakya, the hereditary caretaker, Nakin of Ekanta Kumari of Bhaktapur, said that she has been honoured with the opportunity to serve the Goddess, especially as her own daughter was chosen to be the present Living Goddess since the last three years.

"I feel special, a pride to see my daughter on the holy throne. I have taken care of two other Kumaris previously and my personal experience has been that the family from where the Kumari is chosen enjoys prosperity and success in their lives," said she. She or any other female member from her family has to take the Kumari to a special daily worship.

According to Narendra Prasad Joshi, the chief priest of Taleju temple of Bhaktapur, the priests take the Goddess to the Mahavihar on Sunday or Thursday, before the first day of the Dashain, to prepare her for the ceremonial Dashain puja. Everyday she is brought to a courtyard of Chaturbramha Mahabihar, beside the Royal Palace, and offered puja in ceremonial settings.

"On the ninth day, she is taken to the temple of Taleju Bhawani inside the royal palace where she is worshipped with much fanfare, in a one hour ceremony," he said.

After the annual puja, the Kumari is taken to a special seat at the temple of Bramhayani, where the pilgrims offer puja to the child goddess. For the rest of four days, she remains at her residence, giving tika to pilgrims.

However, this Kumari is not the only one worshipped in this cultural city. There are altogether 15 such Living Goddesses in Bhaktapur alone.

"There are nine Gana Kumaris, who represent the tantric structure of the ancient city of Bhatkapur; and three more, Bhairav, Ganesh and Kumar," said historian Dr Purushotam Lochan Shrestha.

The eleven Kumaris are chosen from different parts of the city. They first receive worships in the Dashain festival. Then come three others - from Wane Laykoo, Chasukhel and Sakotha Bahaa. The Ekanta Kumari or the prime Kumari of Bhaktapur makes the final entry in the holy courtyard.

Unlike the Royal Kumari of Hanumandhoka in Kathmandu, the Ekanta Kumari of Bhaktapur need not follow the strict rules during her tenure as the Living Goddess. She enjoys most of her days in her parent’s house and goes to a private school everyday. Regardless of minor physical injuries, which is strongly restricted in Kathmandu, they change the Goddess when she reaches 11 years.

The priest, Joshi said that there might have been similar restrictions but, as the government showed no interest to provide facilities to this aspect of Bhaktapur’s heritage, the locals also became indifferent to the strictures.

"So much so, the Guthi Sansthan has already sold the land in the name of Kumari and now, instead of rice grains, it gives the interest of the cash deposited at a bank," he added.

The Kumari of Bhaktapur receives Rs 450 per month which after retirement becomes a hundred rupees monthly from the government.
[Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059. ]
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/oct/oct20/index.htm#5

A multi-dimensional personality: Lain Singh Bangdel

By Razen Manandhar
Rarely does God give both a brush and a pen to one person. But here, he also gave zeal and mission to one man. He is none other than Lain Singh Bangdel who passed away last week on the very auspicious day of Vijaya Dashami.

He was born in Darjeeling, India in 1924 in a lower-middle class family. After spending his school days at Government High School of Darjeeling, a District Board Scholarship took him to Government College of Arts and Crafts and from where he was graduated in 1945. But instead of returning home, he stayed in Kolkota and tried his luck there. He worked for several advertising agencies, was even sacked for being "incompetent". More than art teachers, he was trained by struggles and failures that also encouraged him to set a goal of his own.

His firm ambition to become an artist inspired him to set off on a one-month-long voyage to London without a single companion and then he moved to France, his ultimate destination in 1952. Since he had no funding, a mountain of difficulties stood on his way. He lived in the outskirts, in chilly rooms and he had to walk around the city to sell his early paintings in the streets. For almost two decades, he lived truly as a struggling "artist" in Paris and London, where he learned much more than the techniques of making strokes on empty canvasses.

The dice was cast in 1961, when artist Bangdel had an opportunity to be introduced to His Late Majesty King Mahendra. The Panchayat system was quite new, and King Mahendra was in search of personalities, who could show Modern Nepal to the world from different angles. The four-year old Royal Nepal Academy needed an artist to showcase Nepal’s art. Though Nepal had been a treasure of art and architecture for millennia, and contemporary art had entered Nepal much earlier than Bangdel was born, he was granted membership of the Academy for being an artist by the King. Luck had it that his working place became Nepal, the country his ancestors had left generations ago.

In the Panchayat period, being a king-nominated member of the Academy was advantageous. His well-maintained relation with the royal family as well as his expertise made him Vice Chancellor in 1974 and again the first non-royal chancellor in 1979, and worked as the head of the Academy till 1989. He was fortunate to remain in the state-backed organisation of the scholars during almost whole of the Panchayat period. He capitalised his power and expertise to enhance his career. This period was also the most productive days of his life - a series of painting exhibitions and book publications, followed by dozens of awards. Most of his books were published from the Academy, whereas some were came out from abroad.

Jadadish Samsher Rana and Genendra Bahadur Amatya had come up with abstract works here when Bangdel exhibited his semi-abstract paintings at Saraswati Sadan, but his were more polished and had a European outlook. Making a position in Nepal’s art arena, where most of the artists were submissive, shy and unexposed to the western world, was not difficult for him. And he became a spokesperson of the art activities of Nepal for at least three decades.

Bringing Nepal Association of Fine Arts under the Academy’s umbrella (it is still a controversial issue amongst some artists) and establishment of Nepal Art Council were Bangdel’s another contributions. The Council was opened as a gallery to exhibit the replicas of Western art, but it was later turned into a kind of art institution, with a building of its own and regular government funding.

Bangdel’s ability to understand the need of the time distinguished him from other artists. So the follower of monarchy did not mind making portraits of BP Koirala and Ganeshman Singh after the 1990’s Popular Movement. Beside his God gifted talent, he had power, blessing from the royals and talent of expression to retain the position he had in the city of art. Nevertheless, the "deified" artist was reluctant to teach art in public. Instead of teaching, he formed a group of half a dozen confident young artists who followed his ism of painting. A group of artists, better known as New Artists’ Circle, are following his path. Most of them were awarded in an art competition organised by the Nepal Art Council some three years ago.

Bangdel was born to be an artist but his contribution to Nepali literature is not less remarkable. He also made his room there as a humanitarian novelist, a freak travelogue writer and an incisive biographer. He had published ‘Bishwa Katha Sangraha’ before he left for London. His stay in London, France and Spain helped him in his literary pursuit. Students of literature today remember him for his books, mainly ‘Spain ko Samjhana’, ‘Muluk Bahira’, ‘Maitighar’, ‘Langadako Sathi’, ‘Bishwa Ka Chha Mahan Kalakar’ and ‘Rembrandt’.

Similarly, Bangdel had a deep knowledge of Nepal’s stone sculpture. He might never have imagined that the small Kathmandu Valley is rich in ancient sculptures, some dating as early as the first century BC. He, with his experience and tireless research, sought similarity between the early sculptures of the valley and the Kushan-period sculpture of Northern India. His diligent study and interpretation paved a new way for studying Nepal’s cultural heritage. His research produced Prachin Nepali Murtikalako Itihas (1982), Ancient Sculptures of Nepal (1982, India) Stolen Images of Nepal (1989) and Inventory of Stone Sulptures of the Kathmandu Valley (1995) are some of his books. Among others, his "Stolen Images of Nepal" is still a matchless gem for Nepali authors as it contains pictures of hundreds of idols that have been stolen, as well as detached pedestals. In the course of research, he had taken thousands of pictures of stone sculptures from courtyards and shrines of the valley. The treasure of photographs, yet to come out, is sure to make a history in the future.

Despite all this, he was noted for his isolation from the Nepali artists’ circle. He was accused of misusing his power, being undemocratic to juniors and favouring only his beloved ones. Some even raise questions over the pictures of the stolen idols. Nonetheless, his contributions to Nepali art, heritage and literature will be remembered forever, and it will take time to fill the vacuum left by Bangdel’s demise.
[Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059.]

Election in a glass-case

By RAZEN MANANDHAR

Though the govern ment failed to bring back the stolen (or exported) idol of Dipankar Buddha from Austria, the authorities have lately found a curio item unclaimed, at the backyard of Shahid Manch.

The maker of the abstract sculpture, entitled "Election" is anonymous but he said to have been very popular among the public in past 11 years. The art critics have not yet analysed whether the poor people really love it or the exhibitors wanted to impose this show on the people’s back. The advertisers have made such an impression in the world that it was the people’s wish and not the organisers’ vested interest that guide this poor country to organise the extravagant show in every three or four years.

To be very frank, there was nothing to gain by watching this abstract sculpture for the public. But still, a handful of exhibitors, who earn money by showing of the sculpture often lure the visitors by explaining the beauty of artworks, curves, texture and composition. Their explanation of the curio sculpture reminds me of the political leaders who pretend to watch modern art and to understand it too at such exhibitions.

What could compel them to exhibit the mystic sculpture now and then if not the profit they gain? Though it was constitutional to open the display once in five years at Bahadur Bhawan, they have the practice of opening it in every other year.

A new exhibition of the same mesmerising sculpture is going to be held soon. It was said that this exhibition will benefit all the parties and the public, they have not come up with preparations from their sides. This clearly shows that they are not expecting any such exhibition.

But as a matter of fact the people will gain nothing only by watching it. And this time, the exhibition will be held amid strict security. The authority said that the exhibition would be marked by tight security, so much so that the exhibition will be there but the security will take out the breath of each visitor before s/he could watch it for the last time.

The authority has not yet made proper arrangement for the show to take place, but they are cocksure that they could hold it. They have not even consulted our Hydrology department whether it will rain or snow on that day.

The entertainers are also still not sure whether they should go to villages and lure the uneducated, poor and dim-witted people to the stage. Even going there is not the end. They will have to explain about the specialty of the show this time.

You will never know, the organisers do not want to bring the sculpture to the show. They are afraid that the right to hold another show might be snatched away. To keep their right tight, they have already laid off 205 guards who were working from Singha Durbar. Similarly, they have also deputed their pets instead of 4,000 representatives in local posts around the museum.

But things are not gonna be better anyway. If going there will be more boring than watching Nepal Television, I think the audience will choose the worse than the worst. It’s their right too.

What is interesting about this show is that the louder the authority start confirming the possibility of the election, the more suspicious the possibility of holding this show becomes. They have been repeating the same thing so many times that even the audience have forgotten what exactly will take place.
[Kathmandu, Wednesday October 02, 2002 Ashwin 16, 2059.]

Swayambhu demolition turns into a ministerial farce

By Razen Manandhar 

KATHMANDU, Sept 26 

The plan of Minister Bal Bahadur K.C. to dismantle several illegal houses at Swayambhu was foiled today as another minister dramatically entered the scene and intervened, taking the squatters’ side. 

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur K.C. came to the Big Buddha Statue Park, constructed by Khangsar Buddhists from Manang district, this afternoon and convinced the Buddhists at 1:00 p.m. that the shed and other concrete buildings made at the park’s periphery must be dismantled to follow the master plan of the religious, cultural site. 

"There is a master plan to promote this ancient site, also inscribed in the World Heritage List. To save the whole Kathmandu, each construction here must be in Nepali traditional style and no cement should be used," the minister said. 

He strictly directed Department of Archaeology (DOA) officials to follow the guidelines of the master plan and added that the concerned authorities would make the people aware of the master plan. 

But after the minister left, a group of half a dozen Manangi Buddhist protested when around 50 policemen, city policemen and other labourers tried to dismantle the small iron-made shed that is used as a teashop. 

They neither let the security break their shed nor gave the key. And the security, too, did not use any force against their protest though half a dozen of them had guns in their hands. Rather, the Manangis forced DOA officials to talk to one or another minister on a mobile phone. 

Then the Manangis invited Minister for Labour and Transportation Palten Gurung, over the mobile phone. The unconcerned minister Gurung arrived at the scene at 2:35 p.m. and he suddenly took the side of the squatters and said no dismantling would take place there. 

The in-charge of World Heritage Section of Department of Archaeology Chandra Prasad Tripathi explained him that the master plan does not allow any cement construction and even the Big Buddha Statue was made illegally. "We had notified the concerned Managis several times about the plan to dismantle the sheds, made illegally on the public land that was allocated for greenery but they just ignored us and the minister came here to carry on the dismantling." 

But Minister Gurung straightaway refused to listen to anything. "If you try to dismantle even a small shed here, it may take communal shape and anything can happen here. You must try to understand the community feeling," he told Tripathi, raising his finger. 

Earlier, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Riddi Pradhan said that the area should have been made a green jungle according to the master plan but the area has been encroached several times by people from different districts. 

The government accepted a master plan on conservation of Swayambhu zone, ‘Swaymbhu 2000’, in 1989, which envisioned that the World Heritage monument would be free of encroachments by the year 2000. But, as the locals claim, the number of concrete Tibetan style gumbas are growing in number and huge concrete walls are being made against the spirit of the master plan. 

The master plan suggests restriction of any new construction and ensures retaining of the traditional character of the hill with the art and architecture of the Kathmandu Valley. It also proposes a strict control of construction of any so-called Mane-Gumbas around the hill. 

A member of Swayambhu Area Management Federation, Mahendra Buddhacharya said that most of the illegal constructions in the Swayambhu area are being built with support from political leaders and it is quite difficult to touch them, though DOA now and then pretends to dismantle them. 

"We have been watching this drama for the last several years. We know, the ministers come here only to protect the squatters and there is nobody in the government to really save this holy site from further encroachments," he said. 
27/09/2002

http://sajha.com/archives/openthread.cfm?threadid=7244

US $ 41,000 for two seminars

By Razen Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Sept 11[2002]:Nepali authorities should be able to do better things with foreign aid. However, they prefer to blow-up well-intentioned foreign-funded money in typically Nepali ways. Organising seminars, a la Nepal, has come to the open as one more proof of the ingenuity of Nepalis in ‘blowing up’ money, if the following example is any proof.

Nepal is to receive as much as Rs 3,222,190 or 41,000 US dollars to organise two seminars, from the UNESCO central office for the coming year, as per requests made by Nepali authorities, sources revealed to The Kathmandu Post today.

A seminar titled "A Sub-regional Seminar of Government Regulation of Privatisation process in Education in South Asia", 183162 01NEP, will give the authorities 25,000 US dollars, while another seminar on "Women Empowerment, Partnership Nepal, Lalitpur", 183162 03NEP, is going to cost 16,000 US dollars.

"Rather than blowing up the foreign aid in vague seminars, Nepal could have utilised that money for a hundred other more fruitful issues," said a source refusing to be identified.

UNESCO Central Office has formally approved two requests made by Nepal National Commission for UNESCO under the Participation Programme for the biennium 2002-2003.

However, a letter written by Ahmed Sayyad, Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Co-operation of UNESCO, sent on September 2 to Khagendra Basnyat, the Secretary General of Nepal National Commission for UNESCO, states that no new financial contribution for the 2002-2003 biennium will be paid until the applicant has submitted all the financial reports, together with all supporting documents necessary, in respect of contributions for which payments were effected prior to 31 December 2000.

Moreover, the letter also warns the Nepali authorities that it has to keep all supporting documents (receipts, contracts, invoices, and so on) in respect of the use made, for this financial contribution for a period of five years after the end of the biennium concerned (2008) and to provide them to UNESCO when it or its Auditor so requests "failing which unsupported amounts will be reimbursed to UNESCO".

"The way we have been sending reports of the expenditure has not been satisfactory to UNESCO headquarters. This is quite a small amount we have so far taken from UNESCO but it is going to be quite tough for us, " the source said.
[Kathmandu, Thursday September 12, 2002 Bhadra 27, 2059.]

Poor seek identity among rich Kathmanduites

Razen Manandhar
No wonder, Kathmanduites are rich. They have (or used to have) fertile lands and skilled hands to fill their greenery. This treasure not only made their houses beautiful but they also constructed hundreds of temples and stupas in the small valley. But a new type of rich people here have over-shadowed any hereditary millionaire.

People in the capital have not yet recovered from the shock they got after hearing that a junior clerk in the Revenue Department can earn over 7 kg of gold. At least some have proved that earning money is not difficult in the capital. If you happen to sit in one of the "lucky seats" of the "lucky departments", you can set an example by saving as much in a year as others may not be able to earn in a decade.

People like the 22 national heroes have given Kathmandu an image comparable to Las Vegas in the past decade or two. They have proven that this is only a city of "rich" people (unfortunately, their image are now lost, luck has it, what can we do?).

Well, we would have to consult an astronomist before buying vegetables with the government salary, but the government officers are buying building after building that their grandfathers never saw even in their dreams. When they first enter the city, they didn’t have money to pay off room rent. But those who finally win the lottery of having a job at those targeted positions, change their lifestyle in a year or so. They come to the city of dreams and turn their dreams into a reality within a wink of time. Do they bring a magic rod from their village houses?

It was not only those 22-type of servants who made this city a paradise by extravagant demands. There are political leaders who lead the poor Nepali praja to an abyss and they themselves jump directly into Pulchowk quarters.

Everybody knows, today’s pot-bellied leaders, used to depend upon "New Road ko Bhauju’s" mercy for lunches and dinners. They used to share even razor blades and walk in the streets flapping their Hawai Chappal. I have not heard the God of Forest offered any of them a gold axe for their sincerity (I’m referring to a story I read in my schooldays). The leaders in power are paid scantily and others who just wait outside the Singha Durbar only receive "try again coupons". And, most of our politicians are professional politicians. That is, they have no other "profession" than doing politics. How can this uncertain profession make Bill Gates with Pajeros out of Chappal-chhap activists within a year they hold power?

By any means, those sincere servants and sincere leaders of the sincere government have established an unwritten principle that this Kathmandu is really rich. Regardless of the per capita income, their purchasing power rocketed overnight and the city-dwellers have become so affluent that their hands never compromised with Nepali products or Indian economic goods. They
started fancying the most expensive, luxurious items. The ordinary Kathmanduites are astonished — where does the money come from?

It would be all right if only the unnaturally rich people did not cast an impact on the general public. But they also have made a general concept that being a khardar is buying a car and being a subba is buying a bungalow in a VIP residential area. That means wives of sincere, hard-working and intelligent staff think their husbands foolish and eunuchs. Living in the same city is sharing a same standard but the two types of people can never compete.

The fact of the matter is that the people, living in this city, are not only those who rush to the newspaper stand every morning just to see whether the CIAA has published their names. Quite a lot of people living here need not be afraid of what they have earned — they eat what they sincerely earned and do not have to say that his son’s property is not his. Moreover, quite a few people here go to the bed without buying dinner.

Along with urbanisation, the number of urban poor is also increasing. According to a non-government organisation, working for the squatters and urban poor, Lumanti, there are over 15,000 people living in some 60 such settlements, mostly by the river banks, who live far below the poverty line. They are such a group of people, whom the local government neither discards or evicts as illegal, nor provides any facilities that other city-dwellers take for granted.

On one hand, in the city, which has to bear the burden of immigrants under this or that excuse every year — either unemployment, or Maoist terrorism, landslide or floods— this extra pressure of squatters cannot be tolerable. As a geographic unit and a bureaucratic circle to provide basic needs to the residents, the population of Kathmandu Valley must have a limit. On the other, most of the pathetic residents in temporary huts along the river need not be really homeless. Instances are that even those people who own concrete buildings capture the huts, just to squat upon public land and snatch bits of government facilities.

Nevertheless, one has to admit that there is no comparison between the 22 government staff and those people in slums. Most of them have or had their land in the villages and possibly living decent lives too, but it is those 22-type of servants have allured them here. Or they are the ones who could not include them in that herd of CIAA targets. Be it unfulfilled or shattered, they do have dreams. In the condition of not helping them increase their population, will anybody stand up and say that they also deserve at least some attention?
[Kathmandu, Wednesday September 11, 2002 Bhadra 26, 2059.]

Shrine of Risheshwor, will it come out of government’s clutches?

By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, Sept 8:It is not only the public who encroach on open space in the capital. Even government bodies can break the law, by squatting on religious land. The famous Risheshwor temple, located at the heart of the capital has been a possession of Nepal Transportation Corporation (NTC) for the last three decades.

Moreover, NTC even tried to sell-off the 37 ropanis of public land to distribute salaries to its employees.

Every year the shrine is visited by thousands of Hindus on Rishi Panchami, the fifth day of bright fortnight of late August or early September (next Wednesday this year). Unfortunately, the shrine is in the compound of NTC, a terminated government body these days.

Balbhadra Bhatta, a priest of the shrine said, "This happens every year. Thousands of women visit here on the day of Rishi Panchami, but the shrine lies in the government body’s premises. It is shame, the government does not even leave ‘God’s land’ free."

The holy area lies in Teku and to visit the shrine people have to walk through the now abandoned NTC garden, down a corridor of an empty office building and then into the ground where the shrine is cramped between ugly compound walls.

Some security persons live behind the compound and the whole area is littered with junk, left by the government.

The 63 years old priest said that the shrine used to be surrounded by jungle until the city expanded to surround it. "Meantime, it dramatically went into the possession of a government body and it has become difficult for us to practice daily rituals too," he added.

"This holy area must be free from control of any government body or any other. Rather one must take steps to construct a temple over it. As you are seeing I cannot even sit properly when I come to worship the deity every morning," he told The Kathmandu Post.

Bhatta said that he has heard the government wants to sell-off the commercially valuable land. The government has no provision to pay for the three priests, who depend solely on what the pilgrims offer at the temple.

Since NTC is not functioning, the area is full of unmanaged vegetation. Just before the annual festival, a local authority cleans up the area and prepares the shrine. Then it goes back to ruin for the rest of the year.

Surprisingly, officials at the Department of Archaeology, the only government body to conserve monuments of religious and cultural significance, has not taken any step to free it, neither have they any plans to conserve it, taking its religious and cultural value into account.

An officer at DOA said, "I have not even heard about the shrine of Risheshwor. Where is it, anyway?" Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has tried repeatedly to free this shrine from the clutches of the government body.

Niranjan Shrestha, past ward no. 8 chairman of KMC, said that KMC and NTC had a long battle over the Risheshwor issue some five years ago.

"It must be by 1998 that NTC finally agree to spare at least the shrine and provide a way to reach the area. But it demanded KMC should pay for all the construction it needs. This was beyond our possibility and the issue cooled down without bearing any fruit," he said.

Shrestha added that the area must be used for public purposes or at least should be easily accessible to the pilgrims throughout the year.

[Kathmandu, Monday September 09, 2002 Bhadra 24, 2059.]

Wanna buy a ready-made house?

Razen Manandhar

To dream of buying a house in the capital is perhaps "a duty" of all the citizens who come here at least for once on whatever purpose. In a country where decentralisation is only a minister’s pastime and all the decision-makers are stuck to it; it is not a crime either. When people realise that buying a house in the capital is not easy with regular income, some dig out "source-force" to get a job at the Department of Customs and others try their luck in Wai Wai Noodles.

While all sorts of industry are licking the ground, one unprecedented type of business is shining here. In a year, around two dozen companies have come up with dreamy schemes to sell ready-made houses and apartments in the suburbs of the valley. And, there is no government or municipality in the "urbanisation" campaign but private business houses.

According to available sources, there are at least 30 such companies who have already either taken their plans to the floor or table-working to face the market. That has become almost mushrooming in the periphery of the valley.

Ansal Chaudhary Developers, Sunrise Homes, CE Engineering, are some of major investors in this field and others are ICL property, Civil Co-operative, Oriental Housing, Sangril-la Villa, Comfort Housing, S Investment and so on. The Ansal Chaudhary Developers alone has planned to spread their merchandise in 85 ropanis of land. That means, in total, there will be more 1,200 families with permanent residences in the capital, either with independent houses or with apartments. In the history of housing, this is of course a groundbreaking event. They do deserve encouragement.

Still, there are things each citizen should think about before leaping. The business of real-estate itself has an infamous history. This type of business emerges when people can’t find any suitable place for investment. Buying a piece of land instead of investing the money in an industry or running an individual business has been our "culture". We don’t believe that investment pays. The housing companies or the banks supporting them have lots of money and they know that one after another industries are falling into the pit of bankruptcy. So they chose this "risk-free" business: They say, there may or may not be profit but there is little risk of losing your investment.

This is the reason real-estate business came on the rise after the 1990 democracy. People had money but they needed safe landing of the capital. The developers as well as the clients are in search of a glamorous means for financial mobility. Thus housing and land development is the apt business when nothing progresses or the state is in confusion.

Most of the developers has taken this new business as a part-time or supplementary to their major corporate organisations. Most are related with construction business. Some have industry of building materials or just imports them or own banks. And they admit that they are just experimenting on the business. They might have money enough to practice "learning by doing" but the clients may not and their life and money should not be guinea pigs to the big houses industrialists.

Despite the laws and regulations concerning building construction, what goes on at the Map Section of KMC is not a secret. The laws hardly reach implementation stage. Therefore KMC openly admits that one in three houses are built against the regulations, how can we be assured that all the built house have indeed followed the regulations inch by inch? KMC has just come up with a grand building by-laws and its implementation is still far way. In this situation, how can one expect that the houses in the showcases are really "legal (in practice too)"?

The ready-made houses are being built in the capital’s suburb or in the surrounding villages, where there is no system of map approval, quality inspection. Such areas are more or less virgin to urban development and need a long term vision to develop so that they may not be more "New Baneshwor" areas.

The developers will bring only physical facility but the quality of a building cannot be visible in Photoshop-aided diagrams and pictures. To make a "house", what is more important than washable distemper is the right place to dispose human waste. The main road, the drinking water, drainage, telephone, electricity etc are still the part of the state facilities and a house cannot be a piece of heaven but a inseparable part of the urban infrastructure.

This is a capital where a campus wall falls and a passerby dies on the spot but the builder or owner of the wall is not punished. In such condition, who will be responsible if the houses turn fake, low quality some half a decade later? Will the developers be present after one decade and be ready to respond the house/flat owners’ complains? Who will take the guarantee of future of the buildings? State?
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/jul/jul17/local.htm

Nyatapola Temple

Heritage tour

By Razen Manandhar
We must be proud that our forefathers have left lots of things for us to wonder. Among them, the grand temple behind the Durbar Square of Bhaktapur is one. They we so much skilled that they could construct about 100 feet high temples, with no other materials than mud, bricks, wood and a bit of stones. The Nyatapola temple (known as five-storey pagoda to others) is standing upright today. The temple is going to celebrate its 300th birthday soon next week.

King Bhupatindra Malla had the temple of Nyatapola constructed in Nepal Era 822 (in 1702 AD), which lies at Tomarhi tole of Bhaktapur. Some say that there had been a simple five-storey temple there and the king only made it grand, in the course of competition among the several states of today’s Kathmandu Valley to decorate their states with the biggest structures. Today, this pagoda stands as the biggest temple of the valley.

The temple is made on brick and stone plinths made on 22.5 X 22.5 metre square. On fifth plinth, there stands the elegant temple with five roofs made one on another. surrounded by fife arches on each side. A long straight stone series of steps takes you to the top, which is also a suited view point to get a panoramic picture of Bhaktapur. One can see giant pairs of warriors, elephants, lions, griffins and tantric deities on either side of the steps.

None of the wooden pegs, beams, supporting structures in the temple are placed without adding a taste of art on them. The ends of the beams spread on the ceiling are given head-figures of legendary animals and skeletons. The doors are so delicately carved that one can find images of gods, guards or animals on every inch And so are the decorative windows on either sides. They are not randomly put but the artists were following an unwritten tradition of which deity should occupy which space of the temple.

Simlarly, there are similar windows on other floors too. The roofs are made of wood beams with local tiles on them and supporting struts. The struts are, like in other pagodas, the major attractions of the temple. There are in total colourful 108 struts with images of deities and 529 wind-bells under the five roofs. The gold-plated pinnacle of the temple is said to be of almost 100 kg. One can hardly imagine how the people of Bhaktapur brought it up to 100 feet without any crane.

Historians say it took only six months to complete the whole temple, it is an example of mideaval construction management. They have found out that 1.1 million bricks and 100,000 tiles were used to construct the temple. Eight kilns were set around the site and thousands people from all areas of the Bhaktapur state were invited to contribute in the making of the matchless temple. Even the kings of surrounding states visited the site to observe the construction process. A 48-day long worshipping took place when the temple was consecrated. The king was so happy that threw a dinner to over 2,000 people and he presented a golden crown to the first priest who consecrated the temple on that occasion.

The main deity inside the temple has been kept secret. They believe that the mystic deity is very powerful and anybody’s entrance to the temple who is not strong to see the deity might even die. Only a edified priest can enter the temple once a year.

Quoting the priest historian Dr Purushottam Locan Shrestha said : The temple houses Goddess Siddhi Laxmi — a union of Chandi Bhadrakai, Pratyangira and Siddhi Laxmi — the supreme savior of the city of Bhaktapur. She has nine heads, 16 arms. She is sitting on Rudra who himself has made Betal his mattress. The goddess is flanked by Mahakal Bhairav and Smashan Bhairav on both sides. The whole image is made on one single piece of stone.

Religious importance aside, the temple has been a mystery to the present engineers. They say that the secret behind the strength of the temple is the perfect combination among the foundation, plinth and the temple structure. Even when the valley was hit with over 8 rector scale earthquake and hundreds of temples collapsed completely, the Nyatapola Temple lost only its top floor. It was renovated several times, Late King Mahendra did in 1962 and Bhaktapr Municipality in 2000.

The heritage is standing today with pride, as a challenge to the modern technology and people’s lukewarm attraction to the beauty of the past. Howsoever, the 300-year old legacy is not safe. Many of the idols on the fist floors have stolen. The paintings were damaged. The sculpture of the warrior was damaged by a vehicle. The local government at least must do something to stop the vehicles plying in front of the temple.
[Kathmandu, Sunday, july 07, 2002 Ashadh 23, 2059.]