Open spaces and structures like Maitighar Mandala, Narayan Chaur and City Hall, which had been neglected for years, were refurbished and brought back to life. The city was once again rendered beautiful.City dwellers are happy that the capital was finally getting a must-awaited facelift, but looking at the government's poor record of maintenance, they are skeptical the beautification work started during the summit conference will be sustained.
Three school girls heading towards Sundhara on a micro-bus two weeks before the summit screamed out joy as they passed the Maitighar Mandala and saw that it had been given a much-needed facelift also. But one of them immediately commented, "The government is beautifying the city now, but it will become like before again after the summit is over." She went on to say to her friend sitting next to her that the beautification would make sense only if it was continued after the summit.
Five months on, what many feared unlikely has happened. Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA), the bodies mostly responsible for keeping the capital pretty, have given continuity to the urban beautification.
The government spent over 2 billion rupees for the SAARC summit preparations, of which a huge chunk was spent on city beautification.
KMC has started upgrading the footpaths in the core areas of the city as part of major beautification works. Shanta Ram Pokharel, spokesperson of KMC, said the continuation of the beautification was to make the public realize that the government does this sort of thing not just to impress foreign dignitaries.
"City beautification does not only mean keeping the city clean or planting trees; it should add aesthetic appeal to the city. Apart from the greenery, there is a lot of dynamics at work in urban aesthetics. The aesthetic appeal will last if we keep up our infrastructure. This is a challenge as well as an opportunity," said commissioner Parajuli.
"Without proper maintenance, any beautification process is meaningless and a complete waste of money. We are quick to construct new things, but we hardly care about them once the construction is done with. So, it's high time we start giving priority to the maintenance part," he added.
Some years back also, saplings and flowers were planted on traffic islands along the Koteshwor-Bhaktapur road, with the expenditure of hefty sums. But in lack of regular maintenance by the Department of Roads, the islands have become covered with weeds. It is greenery without any aesthetic appeal.
Parajuli said mere supervision and maintenance by the concerned authorities is not sufficient for the sustainability of the beautification process. "To make beautification durable, we should adopt an integrated approach. Lack of coordination among line agencies is promoting unplanned development, which is never lasting and only tarnishes urban beauty."
He said that the KVDA is drafting Kathmandu Valley Urban Road Standards and Streetscape Design Guidelines to ensure harmonious construction of road infrastructure in the Valley as this may contribute to urban aesthetics.
"A beautiful city is the mark of a civilized society," concluded Parajuli.
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