Written by: Aakanchhya khadka - 2026001, Grade VI
Posted on: 16 March, 2021
We all know Nepal is a beautiful country. It has a lot of national heritage. Nepal is a place to visit to gain a lifetime experience. Nepal’s capital Kathmandu has many heritage sites. It is a very beautiful place with many religious and historical importance. There is a saying that if something has an advantage it also has disadvantages. We all know that Kathmandu is a beautiful place to visit but due to the growth of population, air pollution has increased a lot compared to previous years. According to the statutes made in 2016, Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Nepali is ranked 177th out of 180 countries in air quality. In Asia, Kathmandu is ranked one of the most polluted cities.
Kathmandu is the most polluted city in Nepal. There are rivers flowing in this valley which are very dirty such as Dhobi Khola, Bagmati, Bishnumati, etc. It is so polluted that people might have to cover their noses when they are around the river. It smells horrible. Kathmandu also has extreme levels of noise pollution which is terrible due to vehicles running morning tonight. During the corona pandemic, there was a three months strict lockdown which to my surprise the public followed well according to the order given by the government. Anyway, in the three months of quarantine, people were not allowed to use vehicles, get out of the house, and shops were also only opened for a certain period. Because of the lockdown, there was no air or noise pollution. The streets were clean and empty. Even the river had looked clean and the environment was very clean as well. Neither was there air pollution and noise pollution. I guess, to some extent it even helped global warming and sudden climate change. The sky at that time was clear blue and beautiful. The sad thing was people lost their jobs during that time but I guess nature was happy. There is a saying in Hindi that to earn something good we have to lose something. After the lockdown was called off, there was a sudden growth in pollution. And again, Kathmandu turned into one of the most polluted cities in Asia.
In my opinion, the government should implement laws to use electric buses and encourage environmentally-friendly public vehicles or even ban all the public buses that create air pollution. The government also should encourage the people to use electric motorbike scooters etc not only the government, but the citizens of the country should also be responsible and use an electric motorbike, scooter, car, public buses, etc.
If that happens, I guess, Kathmandu will be as it was during the three-month lockdown. The government also should encourage the people to use electric motorbike scooters etc not only the government, but the citizens of the country should also be responsible and use an electric motorbike, scooter, car, public buses, etc.
