Only cycling and walking can save Kathmandu from becoming the most polluted place on earth, if it has already not become one yet. But cycling and walking are not just some technical issues. They are intimately tied with the issue of justice and, therefore, it is decidedly political issue of our time. We can strive to change hearts and minds of individuals so that they could ride bicycles or walk, but we also need to simultaneously work on changing our public priorities. Look at the streets on any ordinary day in Kathmandu (or wherever in Nepal) and ask: who walks and cycles, and who poisons the air? But beyond the immediate class divisions between those on their feet and those on their seat lies the increasingly inescapable fact that, even those who consider themselves powerful inside their motorised entrapment have not escaped unscathed as their heart is weakened, lungs get choked and mind gets blurred in the poisoned air and deafening noise.
In some of my essays in the past, I have argued that bicycling and walking have to be centrally factored in Kathmandu’s public transportation management. Kathmandu is small place and it has relatively compact settlement. It has reasonably flat surface and the weather allows for pleasant walks and cycling throughout the year.
I sometimes imagine myself sipping coffee or beer right on the Kantipath or Baneswor streets, with the major roads closed off for motorised traffic, and bicycle and pedestrian pathways put in their place. There is no honking, just the gentle swish of air as bikers ride by, or occasional howling of wind. There is no smoke or dust to kill our lungs and hearts. I know those days are way far off and you can even call me a dreamer, but the more I think about this, the more it has become clear to me that there is absolutely no other way if we
want to make Kathmandu a livable place for its citizens. Given the size of the place and size of its populations, there is no way hyper-motorisation will take care of the mobility needs of most in the city. Where will we build roads? How will we get increasingly costly and globally dwindling gasoline? These are additional questions.
There are now very inspiring groups of people campaigning for livable Kathmandu. Not the least among them is this motley group called Kathmandu Cycle City 2020. They have inspired similar groups outside of the valley—in Pokhara, in Chitwan, in Butwal and, perhaps, in man other places. On 24 September this year, this group organised a cycle rally. This rally was one of the over 2000 events around the world coordinated by 350.org under the slogan: ‘Moving Planet, a day to move beyond the fossil fuel’. Over a hundred cyclists rode their bicycles from Basantapur square to Patan durbar square. The group then felicitated NLIC City Center for creating bicycle friendly infrastructure in their premise and moved to Bhatbhateni supermarket to request its management to do the same. I hope Bhatbhateni listens to their call. I hope others in town also do.
Their cycle rallies had attracted several hundreds in the past, but on any normal day in town, these cyclists would be outnumbered by those on motorbikes or cars. What was very significant during the September 24 rally was, however, not the number itself. Immediately after the ralley, Rajan Kathet, one of the KCC2020 members, posted the group’s communique. “More than 130 cyclists participated in the event to mark the day,” it read. “Among them Chepaang group had the majority.”
There was the catch. A few bicycle entrepreneurs, some ecologically-minded young people and some university students have been at the forefront of promoting bicycle in Kathmandu. What does the involvement of Chepaang group signal in this?
A lot. For most of Chepaangs, and many other groups in Kathmandu, bicycle and/or walking are the only means of moving around town. The way the present public bus system works in Kathmandu, people have to pay multiple fares to reach from one place to another. Paying for taxis with their super-inflated meters is beyond the capacity of most in town. For those who do not make big income, spending money on highly fragmented public bus system amounts to sizable proportion of one’s income.
If geography is destiny, Kathmandu can be among the most livable cities in the world. I am not talking fantasy here. Canada’s Toronto, where I have been studying for the past three years, is under snow almost five months of the year. This year, it was unusually hot during summer, with near-Nepalgunj summer temperature for several days in a row. And compare that with Kathmandu. Although it has begun warming up quite a bit lately, it is never like Nepalgunj even during the peak summer days. Snow is rare, once-in-a-generation event in the valley itself. If it were not for the fragmented transportation system, among many other things, Kathmandu can be much more pleasant to live in than, let’s say, Toronto.
The fact is geography is not destiny and we have Kathmandu, despite great geography, turning into increasingly unhealthy place to be in. The major culprit are our fragmented transportation system. And this system is the direct result of our polity with its misguided priorities, naked corruption and ignorance about the need of citizens. Without transforming this polity, we can’t have cycle and feet friendly Kathmandu.
