A River of Sewage in Boudha

Date: 8 th of June, 2008

Every year during monsoon season, Tathaghat Marg, the road between Mahankal and the rest of Boudha floods with filthy water from the broken sewer. This is due to the two main factors: First: the sewer pipes are broken and Second: people throw garbage into the roadside channels, blocking them. Many people get sick especially the kids who walk in that dirty water.

Due to the blockage of the channels the sewage runs down the road instead of letting the vehicles and pedestrians to pass through. Everyone who lives near the road faces the problem but no one can do anything about the broken sewer mains.

A local resident says, “In monsoon Tathagat Marg is a mess. A river of sewage +36 cm runs down the road and the filth runs into gardens. Tathagat Marg is the main roadway between Mahankal Road and the rest of Boudha. Hundreds of small schoolchildren have to use this route to and from school. The road is impassible for small vehicles like Marutis, they fall into the gaping potholes. It takes hours to get them out.

The main sewer at the junction of Tathagat Marg and Phulbari road has been broken for years.  Nothing seems to get fixed in Boudha. Vehicle owners pay a lot of money for road tax. Where does this money go?"

And one of the shopkeepers asks, “We are tired of this problem. How long we have to face it”

Story by SMD Boarding School students,

Kelsang Sherpa B24

Phur Tenzin Sherpa B381

Sonam Dolma Sherpa B165

Dawa Pashi Sherpa B311

The above story was submitted by the authors to a local paper, here is what they chose to report:

THT WATCH

Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, June 17:

What’s broken

With the advent of monsoon, the occasional heavy rains have been taking their toll on locals in Tathaghat Marg-6, Mahankal. People here have been facing difficulty moving around as the street remains inundated. At the best of times it is slushy. This 300-metre road, black-topped eight years ago, is in a bad shape now. The most affected are students of Shree Mangal Deep Boarding School. Academic supervisor Jhabindra Kumar Subedi complains that students often fall ill during the monsoon season. Subedi said the school took an initiative to black-top the road, but found out “it would cost a lot to do it on its own,” and the local government would not extend a permit.

In the Local Autonomous Act there is a provision that requires locals to set up a user’s committee and contribute between 20 and 30 per cent of the cost of construction. Pramod Lal Joshi, secretary of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward No 6, said locals had not contacted the ward office as of now with a proposal to fix the road. “Unless the locals come up with a proposal to fix the roads, we cannot go for it,” he said. However, Joshi admitted that the ward comprises many inner roads, several of which are in a bad shape. The ward office has received 15 repair proposals this year alone, but officials say those proposals have already been forwarded to the KMC, which will take a final decision regarding budget allocation and technical assessment.

Who is responsible

Locals are responsible, as they are the ones to take an initiative to draft and send a proposal to fix the road. Academic supervisor Jhabindra Kumar Subedi admitted that the locals were indifferent and there is no unified willingness to take up the task.