Metropolitan dreams of Nepal

A prudent and creative spirit should guide the metropolitan spirit of construction.

Demolition of unlawfully constructed sites in Kathmandu metropolis evokes fresh visuals these days. Kathmandu municipality under the leadership of Mayor Balen Shah and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol is churning out images of unlawfully made structures being removed at different constructed sites of the city. Thanks to the visual media that include the major news portals, such images have become common sights these days. They create sensations and curiosities in the minds of the people both inside Nepal Mandala and outside in other cities and towns of Nepal. The municipality seems to have concluded that nothing short of using dozers would address the problem of what is seen as the chaotic architectural planning of the metropolis. Kathmandu is the principal locus of that. But this subject has drawn so much attention of the people that it has become a reality in its own right. That means the process of demolition of unwarranted constructions has assumed more meaning than what we understand by seeing footage on the screen and visiting the actual sites.