“My health suffered a lot in my first year in the capital city. The pollution took a heavy toll,” says Tiruwa, who now carries a mask while commuting. What started as occasional coughs and common cold now have Tiruwa heavy of breath.[break]
Life has become difficult for breath, thanks to Kathmandu’s increasing air pollution. And the rising number of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in major hospitals confirms the adverse effects on the health of Kathmanduites.
A 2006/2007 study by Clean Energy Nepal (CEN) shows that the number of deaths due to COPD at Bir Hospital in the year 2005/2006 was 51, and this jumped to 96 in 2006/2007. In the year 2011/2012, a whopping 376 COPD cases have been reported. And children, especially infants, are in the frontline.
Experts claim that constant exposure to smoke, dust or other pollutants could trigger the disease which normally develops over a course of many years. Exposure for a longer time during childhood could escalate the risk of developing COPD in adulthood.
The degraded air quality in Nepal is also reflected in the latest report publicized earlier this year by Environment Performance Index (EPI). Nepal is currently listed in the third last position among 132 countries, scoring 18 out of 100 points. The rankings were prepared by the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University in the US, the Centre for International Earth Science Information Network and Columbia University.
Bhusan Tuladhar, regional technical advisor for South Asia at UN-Habitat, accuses vehicular emissions of being the main cause of urban air pollution. Such emissions carry high concentrations of particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5. Particulate matter (PM) are very small solid or liquid particles suspended in the air. PM10 and PM2.5 are less than 10 and 2.5 micrometers in diameter respectively. These tiny particles travel easily through the respiratory system, causing adverse effects on health.“When you inhale, PM10 particles get stuck in the nasal area or the sides of airways and are less harmful than PM2.5, which can travel to the lungs.
PM10 particulates can cause allergies, coughing, wheezing and irritation of mucous membranes while PM2.5 can get trapped in the lungs and result in lung disease,” says Dr Mahesh Raj Ghimire, general physician at Sumeru Hospital, Satdobato. He further adds that the elderly, infants and people with respiratory diseases are more vulnerable to such particulates.
World Health Organization “Air Quality Guidelines” suggests that particulate matter should be reduced to 70-20 micrograms per cubic meter. However, Nepal has not even been able to attain the national standard that requires the PM level to be maintained at less than 120 micrograms per cubic meter.
Tuladhar’s take is supported by CEN’s preliminary research, which indicates the vehicular carbon emissions in Bagmati zone rising from 57.642 to 117.117million metric tons in the course of the first decade of the 21st century. And emissions it seems will rise further.
Records at the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) show that the total number of new vehicles registered in Bagmati zone alone in 2011 is 64,010. Among these the maximum number, 53,960, were motorcycles followed by 6,692 private vehicles (car, jeep, van).
The above figures show that the city dwellers are rapidly shifting towards private vehicles, contributing to traffic congestion and to vehicular emissions.
“Private vehicles occupy more road space, carry comparatively less number of people and pollute more per person. They also use more resources in terms of fuel,” says Manjeet Dhakal, program director at CEN.
“If the management of public transportation had been good, more than half the people would have preferred it over private vehicles.”
Illustration: Sworup Nhasiju
Dhakal stresses that a Public Private Partnership model for a mass transit system is the only solution to minimize air pollution and bring positive changes to the air quality of the Valley.
However, a recent preliminary research by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Kathmandu’s traffic situation claims that high numbers of people in the Valley still commute by public transportation or travel on foot, regardless of the increasing number of registered vehicles.
The number of people commuting on motorcycles has increased three times since 1991, but they only constitute 26% of the population in Kathmandu Valley while people travelling in cars constitute 4%.
“The above figures are the base on which policies must be put in place to increase bus transportation and safer footpaths for pedestrians,” says Tuladhar, “Cycle lanes would also encourage people to commute on bikes.”
JICA’s report claims that the use of the zero-emission two-wheelers has decreased significantly from 6.6% in 1991 to 1.5% in 2012.
Beyond the statistical significance and expert opinions, however, an “ambitious” ADB-funded project is at its inception stage – Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport Project (KSUTP), the main objective of which is to improve public transport conditions and the walking environment in theValley through a modal shift from private vehicles to public transport.
The outlined ToR of KSUTP has divided the plan of action into basically four parts: improvement of public transport, traffic management and walkability in the city area and enhanced monitoring of air quality. Expected to materialize by June 30, 2015, the project has elaborate plans such as implementing two pilot bus routes, using electric or low emission vehicles, improvement of sidewalks in core areas of the city, and providing the Ministry of Environment with air monitoring equipments.
However, the concerned authorities are clueless as to how the project will unfold in its implementation part. “Consultants have been hired to carry out various research work andtheir recommendations will shape the implementation part,” says Niraj Sharma, deputy project director of KSUTP.
Department of Roads, Ministry of Environment, Department of Transport Management (DOTM), Metropolitan Traffic Police (MTP) Division and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) have so far been listed as the project implementation units.
On a positive note though, Sajha Yatayat, a cooperative public transportation organization setup in 1991/1992, is preparing to resume its services in a few months time. The service which was shutdown in January 2002 following management issues saw a fresh management board appointment in March 2011.
Sajha buses will be a model public transportation system after they come into operation, says Tuladhar, who is also one of the board members. “We are trying to model the buses according to the needs of various people, such as entrance for wheel chairs, a compartment to accommodate cycles if cyclists prefer to use the bus for a certain distance and the like.”
According to him, the roads in the capital are more vehicle-centric and less people-centric. He highlights that the roads are build to cater to some 30% private vehicles rather than to the majority who walk or use public transportation.
Dhakal mentions an incident where the footpaths in areas adjoining the Jai Nepal Cinema were demolished during the road expansion drive. “We tried to reason with the concerned authority to restore the footpaths but they turned a deaf ear.”
CEN then initiated a research to literally count the number of pedestrians walking past the area The study claims a frequency of 823 persons per hour walked in the area.
The study pressured the authorities to restore the footpaths but their breadth was minimized, making a mockery of the expansion drive.
“The plan for restoring the footpaths was always there, it just took a long time in the construction process,” clarifies Bhai Kaji Tiwari, chief urban planner of Kathmandu Valley, who challenges the CEN study and rather claims that the minimised breadth is not an issue as less number of pedestrians use the footpath.
The chief urban planner also says that it is impossible to incorporate everything from footpaths and cycle lanes. “Footpaths are built only on roads that are at least 11 meters wide. In the current road expansion drive, we are compulsorily building sidewalks of at least 1.5 meter width. After the completion of construction, people will not find it difficult to walk on the roads.”
Hopefully, the chief planner is right. But as of now, the road expansion has further contributed to air pollution and transformed the city into a war zone, with more areas are yet to be bulldozed for wider roads. Walking in Kathmandu is no doubt nothing less than a battle royal.
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