LETTERS: Permanent solution

Better late than never is how we can respond to the news “Ktm Walks’ for sustainable mobility” (THT, Oct.6, Page 2). The goal should be to bring back the glorious days in this beautiful Valley. Such campaigns will not achieve much unless backed by strong law as people will go back to forcing their two-and four-wheelers through narrow lanes and alleys that our thoughtful and intelligent ancient Newar rulers had laid for walking. The best way to save Kathmandu from further degradation for once and all is, of course, by shifting the Capital to Nijgarh which will soon have a swanky airport and a fast-track highway connection.

Apart from turning the Valley into the Shangri-La that it was before 1990, Nijgarh will also find favour with the Madhesis whose major complaint is that they are far removed from the capital, politically, socially and culturally. Establishing the capital in the Madhesi heartland will fill the locals with pride, honour and ‘apanatwa’.

This single move will be win-win for Kathmandu and Madhesh as it will not only turn the Valley into a tourist paradise of yore, but will also single handedly fulfill Madhesis’ yearning to be close to the power centre. Hopefully, this will also stop them from relishing Prithivi Narayan Shah’s game of choking the

Valley.

J. Talchabhadell,  Bhaktapur

Saving vultures

The efforts of the local governments of South Asia in restricting the use and over application of the anti-inflammatory drug Diclofenac must be appreciated from the perspective of the dwindling populations of vultures across the subcontinent. However, the effort is too late for the overall recovery of the vulture population of India and the adjoining subcontinent nations; as the damage has been too deep to recover from now. The indiscriminate over use of several drugs including antibiotics; and agro-chemicals such as different pesticides and synthetic fertilizers in the agriculture sector of the developing and under developed nations have been a grave concern from the long term global environmental and health perspectives. Several such chemicals released through the urine and faeces of cattle and livestock and chemical residues left in the agricultural fields are washed up by the irrigation water and rain accumulating over time in the adjoining surface water bodies. The over application of the drug Diclofenac in the livestock industry resulted in its accumulation in the dead and decomposing bodies of cattle and livestock that are in turn are consumed by various species of vultures.

As a consequence through the process of biomagnification, the drug found itself into the metabolic system of the helpless and defenseless vultures causing severe damage to their liver and finally causing painful death. Unless strict legislations and strong monitoring system by ground agencies are initiated by all the adjoining nations together on a common conservation platform the efforts are not going to help the target species.

Saikat Kumar Basu, Canada