Dharahara park being built despite SC fiat

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, December 12:

The re-construction of the historic site of Dharahara-Sundhara for commercial purposes, which halted after a Supreme Court verdict, has
resumed.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City leased the 172-year-old site -- the tallest tower and the deepest waterspout in the country -- to a fresh
company called Side Walkers Traders Pvt. Ltd (SWT) for 20 years without inviting tenders. The contract, signed on May 13 by then
mayor Keshav Sthapit and promoter of SWT Sanjib Tuladhar, has left six spaces blank for witnesses' signatures.

The SWT will pay Rs 60,000 per month to KMC for using the spout and the tower, both constructed around 1832 AD, and over five ropani of
open space for commercial purposes.

The KMC had made similar contract with the SWT in June 11, 1998 to lease the area, but the Supreme Court on March 7 last year ordered a
stop to it after lengthy legal action and counter-action, saying that the KMC had no authority to do that. But, KMC again made new contract
with the same party seven months ago. The contract states that SWT would construct a series of shops along the wall and also construct a
garden, souvenir shop, flower shop, communication centre and a restaurant with a pubic toilet, including installing a statue of
Bhimsen Thapa. It will also hold the right to charge people a fee for observing the historic tower. In addition, if SWT gets embroiled in
any legal action again, KMC will compensate it.

Even the concerned department of KMC is ignorant of the "secret" contract. An official at Environment Department of KMC said he only
recently heard about the ongoing construction work. "I never heard about such a contract, though it happens to fall in my department. I
think it is too big an issue for me to talk about. I am surprised," the official said.

The contract paper claims: "The issue was repeatedly discussed in the KMC board and passed". A board member said he had never heard of the
matter in any of the board meetings. Ex-chairman of ward 22 Manik Ratna Sthapit said the issue was never discussed in the boards,
adding that he had refused to toe the line when the ex-mayor asked him to sign on the contract as a witness.

Gautam Dangol, general secretary of local Sankata Sports Club, said that the contract was a clear example of corruption at the top
political levels. "How can anyone so blatantly flout the SC verdict? I asked the ward 22 office about the construction but the office
secretary replied the office has no information about it," he said.
Dangol added the locals are committed to stop the construction at any cost.

The promoter of SWT, Sanjib Tuladhar, could not be reached for comments.

Advocate Bijaya Kumar Basnet said he would file a writ in the SC soon, adding the contract between the ex-mayor and Tuladhar violated
the rights provided by law to the KMC.
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Lumbini jamboree all set to kick off

Razen Manandhar
Lumbini, November 29:

Preparations for the much-hyped Second World Buddhist Summit are complete, the organisers said today.

The over 2500 years old shrine has been selected as the venue for the international gathering of eads of states, political leaders, diplomats and religious leaders.
Hotels in Butwal, Bhairahawa and Lumbini bazaar as well as monasteries are all packed with delegates, observers and journalists.
Many are yet to find bedding space. A minor bomb blast, not far away from Lumbini, sent a ripple of fear among participants but they are committed to see the gathering to a successful ending.

"We are ready to welcome the distinguished guests," said host Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, the minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation. Organisers said that the two-day Rupandehi bandh,imposed by the Moist would not affect the gathering. Three working papers -- Indispensability of peace in the present world context, Lumbini's development and international cooperation, and developing Lumbini as a world peace city � will be presented during the three-day event.

Meanwhile, the local administration has picked up some 100 buses of the Western Nepal Bus Entrepreneurs' Association (WNBEA) and Siddhartha Transporters' Committee (STC) to be used during the Summit. The WNBEA and STC said force was used to vacate many vehicles carrying passengers and bringing others from the owners' houses.

Litterbug NGO plays havoc on people

Razen Manandhar
Lalitpur, November 7(2004):

A group of social workers in Sanepa has made up its mind to keep its "VIP area" clean, but at the cost of other people�s cleanliness.

A local non-government organisation, Women�s Initiative for Environment and Development (WEID), has been collecting garbage from around its neighbourhood and the drive has been successful so far. It is, however, dumping the litter by the roadside in Gusingal, next to an old pati, every morning.

A board near the WEID office reads: �Don�t litter here,� and the area looks clean and fresh. Each of the around 300 households in Sanepa, Ward No 2 of the Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan City, pays Rs 50 a month to the NGO to have their garbage collected every day.

Locals of Gusingal have been fighting with rickshaw-pullers who dump the garbage, but in vain. �We failed to stop them from dumping the waste. Moreover, as there isn�t unity among us locals, our protest against the NGO was futile,� a local resident said. '

The Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City has placed a container at the spot, but the WEID rickshaws simply litter the ground as the container is too small to take in all the waste. Rag pickers, too, spread the garbage all over the road. Kamal KC, chairperson of WEID, said they have been dumping the garbage at Gusingal to keep the Sanepa area clean. �This is a VIP area and we have to keep it clean,� she said.

When asked what would happen to locals of Gusingal, she admitted that they haven�t been able to manage the garbage properly due to lack of funds. �We have plans of organising awareness programmes, composting and reusing the waste, but we have to dump it there for the time being due to flaws in our organisation,� KC admitted.

She further said that the LSC had not been cooperating with the WEID in managing the garbage. The NGO pays around Rs 3,000 annually to the LSC for a container at Gusingal, but the LSC does not regularly keep the container there. KC further admitted that they have not paid the LSC for a long time now.

Valley stone spouts bear brunt of neglect

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, October 25 (2004):

Ancient stone spouts in Kathmandu Valley, so useful in the dry season, are in a sorry state for lack of conservation. Negligence apart, some spouts have even turned into private property because of the collusion by government bodies.

There are over 225 stone spouts in Kathmandu alone. Similarly, there are 77 in Bhaktapur, 61 in Thimi, 53 in Patan, and 12 in Kirtipur excluding others in less populated areas. Most were constructed during the Lichhavi and Malla periods, between the 7th to 17th
centuries.

Sundhara, the biggest of all spouts, is lying dry and useless after a government institution disturbed its pipelines by digging the land behind it to construct a business complex a decade ago.

Yangal Hiti, a Lichhavi era spout, is now the personal property of some local aristocrats. The stone spout at Hadigaon, constructed in the 7th century, stopped working after a concrete building was constructed beside it.

Bhotahiti and Thahiti have remained merely the name of the places because no spout is there now although the names suggest so.

Some of the non-existant or completely destroyed stone spouts are at Dirnarayan Marga, Santi Marga Naxal, Hatisar Sadak, Tindhara Durbar Marga, Nachgahar Jamal, Bhotahiti and Bagh Bazar near Nepal Electricity Authority, a recent study has revealed.

Prakash Chandra Amatya, secretary general of the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, said even small attempts to conserve these spouts could be a great relief to the denizens of the Valley in the dry season from November to June as the government's distribution of piped water falls short.

"Apart from their cultural significance, the spouts provide us an abundant quantity of non-stop water. Local efforts to conserve water resources and manage the output can end the shortage," he said.

Now and then, Kathmandu Metropolitan City toots its horn about its commitment to conserve cultural heritage but it has done precious little to conserve these spouts.

Narendra Raj Shrestha, chief of KMC's heritage conservation department said one or two spouts are being conserved after pressure from locals but as such there is no enunciated policy under any work plan to conserve these sources of water.

"It is obviously the duty of KMC. But I don't think we have resources. His Majesty's government should also support us in conservation projects," Shrestha admitted.

Duped whammy: Torture follows trickery

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, September 25:

A man, whose two sons are with an NGO, Mukti Nepal, was accused of being a Maoist and had to face mental and physical torture when he went to meet his kids.

In December, NGO Mukti Nepal took Pawan Karki (6) and Pravesh Karki (4), sons of a low-income labourer, Mitra Bahadur Thapa, a resident of Jorpati, assuring him that his kids would get free education up to Grade 10 and may get a chance to study aboard if he agreed to present the children as orphans. Since then Thapa was not allowed to see his sons, neither was he informed about their whereabouts.

However, on Wednesday, he decided to visit Mukti Nepal office at Balaju with three sympathisers from CWIN and other organisations. But he was not only denied to meet the children but was accused of being armed Maoist.

He was then handed over to Royal Nepalese Army, who blindfolded him for over 24 hours and grilled him to ascertain the NGO's claim. When nothing incriminating was found, the RNA released him and he was sent to Balaju Police Post. From there, the three who had accompanied him to Mukti Nepal office took him to Kathmandu Chief Administration Office.

He apprised the Chief District Officer of his ordeal and pleaded that he be united with his sons.

CDO Baman Prasad Upadhyaya coordinated with the police leading to the detention of Mukti Nepal activists, Goma Luitel and Dipa Sharma, last nigh. They were, however, later released on the condition that they would return the children to Thapa as soon as possible. Though the younger child is with the NGO, the elder boy has been sent to Spain.

Thapa, who hails from Sankhuwasabha district, told The Himalayan Times that when he went to Mukti Nepal office Goma Luitel called a man, who claimed to be a security personnel.

"He threatened us and sent others who were with me home. I was beaten up and handed over to army, who blindfolded me and took me to an undisclosed place," said Thapa.

In fact, it was Goma and Dipa who handed over Thapa to the army, claiming that four armed Maoists entered her office with threats. She told the RNA that while three escaped, Thapa was apprehended.

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Duped whammy : Torture follows trickery

Kathmandu water contains arsenic

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, June 26[2004]:

It is no news that the capital's water is contaminated. But it has now been revealed that the drinking water supplied by the government contains arsenic. A resident of Tahachal Bal Krishna Shrestha recently decided to get the tap water tested in a laboratory. And he got a major shock when the results showed that water distributed by the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) from its deep tube well at Mahendra Ratna Campus contained arsenic.
Government authorities have been silent about arsenic in the capital's water. "I did not expect to find arsenic in the tap water in my area," said Shrestha. He had the water tested in the Environment and Public Health Organisation lab on June 20. The results showed the sample contained 0.02 mg of arsenic per litre of water. The WHO standard is 0.01 mg per litre. It contained an alarming amount of ammonia — 63.5 mg per litre, the amount of which should be limited to 1.5 mg, according to the WHO. Chairman of Consumer Forum Nepal, Harendra Bahadur Shrestha, has planned to take a team to the NWSC on Monday or Tuesday to protest the government's "irresponsible" act. Deputy GM of NWSC, Narendra Bahadur Pradhan, admitted arsenic can be found in two or three sources out of around four dozen deep-wells of NWSC, but "it is not so alarming as to create panic".
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[ KATHMANDU, JUNE 27, 2004, Ashad 13, 2061 ]

Red tapism hindering conservation

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, June 9:

(2004-06-09)

A recently published survey report has pointed out the lack of the coordination between the government agencies and local communities as the major cause of failure of conservation of monument zones of Kathmandu Valley, named as World Heritage sites by UNESCO. Kathmandu Valley was named as a World Heritage Site, with seven zones -- three Malla palaces, two stupas and two temples in 1979 but was put in the
list of Monuments in Danger in 2003 as the performance of the government was not satisfactory despite UNESCO's repeated requests and warnings.

'An independent survey and evaluation report on the present status of Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site', prepared by the Planners' Alliance for the Himalayan Allied Regions (PAHAR) has criticised government bodies, local governments and communities for not being committed enough to conserve cultural heritage. The World Heritage Centre has received the report and and the same is expected to be the
basis of discussion of Kathmandu Valley issue in its 28th session to be started next month in Beijing. The report says, with the danger- listing of the valley, it has become clear that the present approach to conservation has not been successful.

The re-evaluation of the overall approach would allow us to prepare a system that would allow for better results, adding, "on the conceptual level, there are three main parameters that need to be considered � commitment, capacity and plan". Kai Waise, team leader of the study, said the policy of the government has been unable to win the hearts of locals insofar as conservation is concerned and thus they are indifferent to their own heritage that needs conserving. "If only 75 percent of the community is convinced, others will naturally come to support government," he added.

The German government-funded report pointed out the shortcomings of the performance of the government and stressed, "The commitment and will of the government to implement plans prepared for the monument zones needs to be revitalised" "The government needs to clearly define the priority they are willing to give to conservation vis-a-vis other urban development sectors. The judicial basis of
conservation, especially in the case of private property within the monument zones, would need to be reviewed and if necessary revised.
And each of the monument zones needs a conservation committee to help implement and monitor conservation efforts," according to the study.

The report also proposed a mechanism of regular meetings: local monthly meetings at each of the seven zones, national quarterly meetings and international annual meetings at central locations to coordinate with UNESCO and donors. Chandra Prasad Tripathi, chief of World Heritage Section at DoA said since the report was "individualized" the department was not obliged to accept it in totol.

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EDITORIAL
Effective conservation The conservation of World Heritage Sites in
Kathmandu has constantly been in the news for nearly a year now. The
Sites are sometimes encroached upon by stubborn locals, while at
others, new concrete structures suddenly emerge in prohibited areas
such as Swayambhu � reportedly in connivance with the local
authorities. Though some of these illegal edifices have been pulled
down by the government in the past, this has not entirely dissuaded
the unscrupulous from trying to find an excuse to erect new ones all
over again. Then the Pratappur Temple at Swayambhu caught fire,
following which the temple collapsed a month or so later. All this
while, authorities and those representing the Temple squabbled over
when and how to begin restoration work. At the same time around
arrived the UNESCO's list of Monuments in Danger � another pointer
that all was not well with the historic monuments. A report now finds
the lack of coordination between government agencies and local
communities as the source of concern in preserving the Sites.

The report also points out that the present conservation efforts have
proved ineffective. There is a greater need than ever before to
evaluate the current approach adopted for the upkeep of these
edifices. Authorities adopting and implementing new strategies for
safeguarding the monuments must understand the inevitable that unless
local participation is encouraged, no amount of extraneous
interventions will yield the desired results. People must be made
aware of the benefit accruing from their involvement in protecting
the monuments. It is these structures that serve as eloquent
manifestation of Nepali culture. But as the trend goes, the locals
lend precious little towards the upkeep of the monuments in and
around the Heritage Sites. Red tapism and cumbersome bureaucratic
procedures which tend to deter the foreign conservation agencies as
well as the NGOs need to be eliminated right away. Unfortunate as it
is, petty interests of some of the stakeholders is also a major
handicap for whatever restoration projects are underway.

Judicial problems have been identified as another obstacle. The
government needs to be clear about the cases involving private
property alongside or within the precincts of the Heritage Sites. It
must define priority for conservation vis-�-vis other urban
development projects. Monitoring and implementing the devised
strategies on a regular basis is no doubt desirable. Those
participating in the deliberations on conservation in Beijing next
month will have to present a practical and acceptable solution to the
UN body concerned in order to give a new lease of life to the
conservation endeavour in Nepal.

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.]
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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. ]
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