• KMC has allocated Rs 80 million for repair, maintenance and upgradation of roads

Kathmandu, November 8 Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started fixing potholes on roads that fall under its domain. With the end of rainy season, the metropolis has stepped up efforts to repair the roads. Earlier, when Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba directed the authorities concerned to fix potholes on Valley roads within 15 days after the death of a schoolgirl in Nepaltar in June, KMC Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya had said that the metropolis would not repair the road until the end of monsoon. KMC assistant spokesperson Namaraj Dhakal said the metropolis was working in Koteshwor and Naradevi areas. The roads less than eight metres wide fall under the domain of KMC. KMC has allocated a budget of around Rs 80 million for repair, maintenance and upgradation of roads. “Once the task of filling potholes is completed, KMC will start black-topping the roads from mid-November,” Dhakal informed. The authorities concerned had failed to fix potholes and pits on the roads in Kathmandu within the deadline given by Prime Minister Deuba in June. According to a progress report submitted to the prime minister by Central  Regional Road Directorate, only about 80 per cent road repair work had been completed in two weeks. The CRRD had said rainfall prevented it from completing road repair work. With the onset of dry season, people are being exposed to dust pollution due to haphazard and unsystematic construction activities. Unplanned digging of roads, delay in repairing roads and rampant dumping of construction material, among other things, are responsible for increasing dust pollution in the Valley. Pedestrians and people living in roadside houses have been hit the worst. Hospitals have reported that the number of patients with respiratory problems has increased by over 20 per cent in Valley in recent months. They said long exposure to dust was responsible for the rise in the number of people suffering from respiratory problems, heart ailments, lung disorders, allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, bronchial asthma, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.