KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 8
Kathmandu Metropolitan City is investing Rs 2.15 billion this year to make footpaths more pedestrian-friendly.
The cost estimates of all the road sections have been prepared for the same.
Contracts have already been signed with construction entrepreneurs who were selected through open competition.
According to KMC, the work that started from last fiscal year has been intensified this year for the convenience of pedestrians.
The Public Construction Department of the metropolis is working for the construction and improvement of footpaths.
Apart from granite, coloured blocks will be laid on the footpaths in Durbarmarg area.
As per the Public Construction Division, construction works are under way in various places such as Putalisadak, Anamnagar, Lainchaur, Sorhakhutte, Balaju, Baluwatar, Sinamangal, Old Baneshwor, Lazimpat, Maharajgunj, Tripureshwor, Sundhara, New Baneshwor, Thapathali, Kalimati, Bagbazar, Dillibazar, Maitidevi, Kalimati, Chabahil, Bishalnagar, Swoyambhu, Balaju, Naxal and Kamalpokhari, among others.
Of the 1,300 kilometres of road network in Kathmandu, 1,000 kilometres of roads with a width of less than eight metres fall within the juridiction of KMC. The remaining road is owned by the Division Road Office under the federal government.
Pedestrians have the first right of way among road users.
After this, vehicles get priority. Passengers who walk on foot should not be obstructed in any way. This does not mean that pedestrians can walk wherever they like. They need to use foothpath where it is available, KMC said.
According to KMC, footpath encroachment in major as well as inner roads has contributed to traffic congestion and road accidents.
Moreover, pedestrians have no option but to walk on the road, putting their lives at risk. Pedestrians spilling over on to the roads due to encroachment of footpaths is a common sight in Kathmandu.
However, city authorities have largely failed to keep vendors off sidewalks. Footpaths are often occupied by small-time businesses where they don't pay any fee. If caught, the municipal police confiscates the wares from vendors and charges fines.
The metropolitan city has prescribed 29 different functions, duties and powers of the municipal police. They have been tasked with removing obstruction on footpaths and roads, preventing encroachment of public places, issuing order to demolish structures constructed in contravention of the prescribed standards, catching and auctioning stray cattle, stopping sale and distribution of food items unfit for human consumption, controlling social malpractices and protecting the assets of local levels, among others.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 9, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
