Kesh B Malla
THT, 26/06/08
The student unions affiliated to different political parties were at the forefront of the fight for democracy during Jana Andolan II and even prior to the uprising. The student unions, though functioning more as a platform for future leaders who rise to play pivotal role in national politics from their respective mother parties, have been instrumental in socio-political issues; they have been vocal in favour of democracy and a republican state; and their efforts for restoration of democracy is exemplary for their international counterparts.
While appreciating the progressive actions of unions, they have done almost nothing for educational sector reform which is the major objective, along with student welfare, of any student union. For the welfare of students, what these unions have done so far is just recommend some students for admission (usually when the admission date has passed) by putting pressure on the administration, even when there are no seats available.
These kinds of irresponsible actions of student unions are deteriorating academic environment in government-run campuses. In fact, the student unions in Nepal have been found to be destructive in nature and worked towards dismantling campus environment, both physically and academically. Physically, they have not contributed even minimally to preserve campus environment. It is rare for student unions to speak against lack of proper toilet facilities and running water, shortage of desks and benches, broken windowpanes and filth all over campus premises.
With Rs 20-25 lakhs in budget, a clean campus environment would easily be possible if the students had the will. But our future leaders do not deem a clean atmosphere necessary. Instead, they claim to spend the amount on sports programmes. God alone knows where most of the money goes. Academically too, the student unions, as one of the significant stakeholders of education sector, are responsible for the deplorable state of the university, which do not even follow admission requirements like entrance and a fixed quota of students.
As an influential group, the unions could do a lot if they wish. But the educational programmes in government colleges, which mostly welcome poor students from villages, continue to be disrupted by political activities, which further contribute to poor quality of education they deliver. It is not a matter of concern for these student leaders as they rarely make to classrooms. The campus is just a political ground for most of them.
As one of the important stakeholders in education sector, student unions have the responsibility to take part in constructive activities inside the colleges they operate in. So, instead of contenting themselves with the appointment of officials picked up by their respective parties in the university, time has come for them to imagine a new educational environment in colleges and influence the educational policy of the country. This will contribute a lot in paving the way for the new and prosperous Nepal.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Maintaining Stone Waterspouts
Kesh B Malla
The Rising Nepal, 31/05/09
Hundreds of stone water spouts, which hold religious, cultural and environmental significance, lie in a poor state in Kathmandu. There are around 353 stone waterspouts in the Kathmandu Valley, which can contribute to improving the water supply especially during the dry season. Unfortunately, enough attention has not been paid to the maintenance and management of these stone waterspouts, letting many of them to go dry.
These stone waterspouts are threatened by decreasing rate of water flow, poor water quality, drainage and overall management problem. This has occurred due to the destruction of water sources, which are the raj kulo, ponds, wells and aquifers. Also due to availability of piped water, the traditional management system of these stone waterspouts has been grossly neglected.
The rapid urbanisation that has taken place in the past two decades in Kathmandu has also played a role in the destruction of the water sources. With Kathmandu coming under a concrete jungle, the groundwater table cannot sufficiently recharge. Similarly, some public places like Saptapatal Pokhari in Lagankhel, which is believed to be the source of many stone waterspouts around, have been encroached upon.
When Kathmandu is going dry, and there has been a lot of concern about its poor water supply system, these stone waterspouts - some of them functioning and serving as many as 20,000 people each - hold substantial meaning. When we cannot conserve and utilise the already existing resources like these, one may question what will possibly happen to the highly ambitious Melamchi project without proper management and limited community participation?
Proper attention must be given to enhancing community participation in the maintenance and management of these resources. Maybe, traditions like the ‘Sithi Nakha’ of the Newars, which is marked to preserve the stone waterspouts ponds and wells will help in their conservation. Once a year on this day, the wells and stone waterspouts are cleaned.
In the mean time, some positive initiatives have been taken up in places like Nagbahal, Alkwohiti and Wasahiti in Patan area, where the community is greatly involved in their conservation. And the community has given a new lease of life to the heritage by renovating them. Although some stone waterspouts have gone dry, the renovation has, at least, helped keep the relic intact.
Despite the involvement of several organisations working for the conservation of these stone waterspouts in the valley, the situation still remains bleak. There is a dire need for an active and responsible local community as well as authority to act upon this issue immediately.
The Rising Nepal, 31/05/09
Hundreds of stone water spouts, which hold religious, cultural and environmental significance, lie in a poor state in Kathmandu. There are around 353 stone waterspouts in the Kathmandu Valley, which can contribute to improving the water supply especially during the dry season. Unfortunately, enough attention has not been paid to the maintenance and management of these stone waterspouts, letting many of them to go dry.
These stone waterspouts are threatened by decreasing rate of water flow, poor water quality, drainage and overall management problem. This has occurred due to the destruction of water sources, which are the raj kulo, ponds, wells and aquifers. Also due to availability of piped water, the traditional management system of these stone waterspouts has been grossly neglected.
The rapid urbanisation that has taken place in the past two decades in Kathmandu has also played a role in the destruction of the water sources. With Kathmandu coming under a concrete jungle, the groundwater table cannot sufficiently recharge. Similarly, some public places like Saptapatal Pokhari in Lagankhel, which is believed to be the source of many stone waterspouts around, have been encroached upon.
When Kathmandu is going dry, and there has been a lot of concern about its poor water supply system, these stone waterspouts - some of them functioning and serving as many as 20,000 people each - hold substantial meaning. When we cannot conserve and utilise the already existing resources like these, one may question what will possibly happen to the highly ambitious Melamchi project without proper management and limited community participation?
Proper attention must be given to enhancing community participation in the maintenance and management of these resources. Maybe, traditions like the ‘Sithi Nakha’ of the Newars, which is marked to preserve the stone waterspouts ponds and wells will help in their conservation. Once a year on this day, the wells and stone waterspouts are cleaned.
In the mean time, some positive initiatives have been taken up in places like Nagbahal, Alkwohiti and Wasahiti in Patan area, where the community is greatly involved in their conservation. And the community has given a new lease of life to the heritage by renovating them. Although some stone waterspouts have gone dry, the renovation has, at least, helped keep the relic intact.
Despite the involvement of several organisations working for the conservation of these stone waterspouts in the valley, the situation still remains bleak. There is a dire need for an active and responsible local community as well as authority to act upon this issue immediately.
Informal Settlers of Kathmandu
Kesh B Malla
THT,16/10/08
Slums are the manifestation of abject poverty of the rural poor who have to come to cities like Kathmandu for jobs. But the unplanned, poor and sick city cannot accommodate their dreams. They end up settling down in open and public places. Most Nepalis are well aware of this fact, but they have their own stories to tell. Some complain, not against the government’s carelessness, but ‘encroachment’ by squatters (sukumbasis).
They often forget that these informal settlers (a recently published report suggests 78% of slum dwellers have citizenship and only 1% cent of Madheshi and Muslim population reside in the slums) are common Nepalis who have become riverside settlers not from choice but owing to vicious circle of poverty, and the decade-long conflict. Instead, the issue of legality is brought up. The fact that a settlement can be illegal, not the settlers, is conveniently overlooked.
According to a report by Lumanti (an organisation advocating housing rights for the poor), Kathmandu has 47 such settlements where 13,243 settlers from 2,844 families reside. Of them, 64% are from indigenous communities, 7% are Dalits, 1% Madhesis and Muslims and 28% are from other communities. The report further states that a good number of slum dwellers are uneducated; 53% are daily wage earners.
This should answer the suspicion many have regarding infiltration of the settlements by land mafia. The report does not suggest that these settlers have been used by the mafia, although the possibility of infiltration in some cases cannot be ruled out. Even then, the question arises:How logical is it to ignore the concerns of these settlers in the name of infiltration?
Furthermore, many associate squatters with theft and other urban problems. They accuse the settlers of polluting the already dirty rivers of Kathmandu. But areas like Shankhamool that has been home to informal settlers for nearly three decades still maintain a clean and green environment. Settlers there claim to have saved the river from the hands of the mafia.
Likewise, some of the media coverage on slum dwellers show them in a decisively bad light. Their wish for clean, green and planned Kathmandu is appreciable. However, the matter here is the poor people’s right to city, to housing and other basic needs. Slum dwellers often fear eviction and displacement, like the one that took place in Thapathali some years ago on the eve of SAARC summit in Kathmandu.
Thus the government has to take necessary steps to make Kathmandu clean and green, while not undermining the rights of the informal settlers who have been living in the same places, their only ‘homes’, for decades. If necessary, resettlement and rehabilitation processes should be stringently followed, but with the consensus of the settlers. To end on a positive note, somebody rightly said: Slum is not a chaotic collection of structures; it is a dynamic collection of individuals who have figured out how to survive in the most adverse circumstances and in the face of tremendous obstacles.
THT,16/10/08
Slums are the manifestation of abject poverty of the rural poor who have to come to cities like Kathmandu for jobs. But the unplanned, poor and sick city cannot accommodate their dreams. They end up settling down in open and public places. Most Nepalis are well aware of this fact, but they have their own stories to tell. Some complain, not against the government’s carelessness, but ‘encroachment’ by squatters (sukumbasis).
They often forget that these informal settlers (a recently published report suggests 78% of slum dwellers have citizenship and only 1% cent of Madheshi and Muslim population reside in the slums) are common Nepalis who have become riverside settlers not from choice but owing to vicious circle of poverty, and the decade-long conflict. Instead, the issue of legality is brought up. The fact that a settlement can be illegal, not the settlers, is conveniently overlooked.
According to a report by Lumanti (an organisation advocating housing rights for the poor), Kathmandu has 47 such settlements where 13,243 settlers from 2,844 families reside. Of them, 64% are from indigenous communities, 7% are Dalits, 1% Madhesis and Muslims and 28% are from other communities. The report further states that a good number of slum dwellers are uneducated; 53% are daily wage earners.
This should answer the suspicion many have regarding infiltration of the settlements by land mafia. The report does not suggest that these settlers have been used by the mafia, although the possibility of infiltration in some cases cannot be ruled out. Even then, the question arises:How logical is it to ignore the concerns of these settlers in the name of infiltration?
Furthermore, many associate squatters with theft and other urban problems. They accuse the settlers of polluting the already dirty rivers of Kathmandu. But areas like Shankhamool that has been home to informal settlers for nearly three decades still maintain a clean and green environment. Settlers there claim to have saved the river from the hands of the mafia.
Likewise, some of the media coverage on slum dwellers show them in a decisively bad light. Their wish for clean, green and planned Kathmandu is appreciable. However, the matter here is the poor people’s right to city, to housing and other basic needs. Slum dwellers often fear eviction and displacement, like the one that took place in Thapathali some years ago on the eve of SAARC summit in Kathmandu.
Thus the government has to take necessary steps to make Kathmandu clean and green, while not undermining the rights of the informal settlers who have been living in the same places, their only ‘homes’, for decades. If necessary, resettlement and rehabilitation processes should be stringently followed, but with the consensus of the settlers. To end on a positive note, somebody rightly said: Slum is not a chaotic collection of structures; it is a dynamic collection of individuals who have figured out how to survive in the most adverse circumstances and in the face of tremendous obstacles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)