Make the valley a heritage city
The Himalayan Times
11
June 2015
Make the valley a heritage
city
It was interesting to read Kapil P.
Lohani’s article “Relocating the capital” (THT, 8 June, Page 8). This issue should
be seriously deliberated and acted by the government and major political
parties to shift capital elsewhere considering the recent massive devastation
caused by 7.8 rector scale earthquake killing 8700 people and displacing more
than 8 million others. Most of the government’s administrative buildings, CA
building, Parliament Secretariat, Apex Court, Army Headquarter and hospitals have
been badly damaged forcing them to operate their daily services through the
makeshifts.
The Kathmandu valley has been overly populated and is
gradually transforming into an unplanned city with all sorts of mess. People
started to flock to the Valley from all over the country for security reasons
soon after the Maoists launched their insurgency and they continue flocking to
the capital better job opportunity making it overcrowded. None of the previous
governments had any clear visions and plans to control the haphazard
urbanization, making it difficult to properly manage. The availability of land
in Kathmandu valley has reached its saturation point
leaving no space for shelters to the people affected in the time of natural disaster,
like the recent killer earthquake.
Lohani has mentioned in his article that
the Egyptian Government recently decided to shift the capital 50 kms east of Cairo within next five years citing massive
congestion in the existing capital. Pakistan had also shifted its capital from Karanchi
to Islamabad. I
think, time has come for our government and political parties to seriously
think along these lines and come to consensus in shifting the capital to
another potential area turning the Valley into green and heritage city which
is famous for its Newari culture, arts and architecture.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj
