Kathmandu is a city of dreams for every Nepalese. A city is full of people, from those with high profiles to those with unfulfilled dreams; from those searching for job to those seeking good education. People of all kinds can be found in the busiest streets of Kathmandu.

Every single person wants to get settled here in order to earn prestige and status. People think life here is ‘easy’. But reality is much more different than one perceives it to be.

Early morning, students sacrifice their sweet morning sleep and head to colleges. Popular belief says morning air is healthier than that of the day and that’s why people prefer exercising, doing yoga in the morning.

But here in Kathmandu, we find something unusual. In the mornings, people walk with their masks off to take in fresh air. But, they do not realize that the already present pollutants in the air are degrading their health.

As a result, they suffer never ending coughs and sneezes or even pneumonia in some cases.

According to National Ambient Air Quality Standard, air standard in Kathmandu is very low. The research shows that dust in the air can easily penetrate deep into our lungs and hearts, from which even our masks fail to save us.

Another report by the WHO marked that polluted air can effect brain development in children in their young age and hamper their thinking capacity.

WHO says among every one lakh of Nepalese population, 36 people die because of this polluted air. The Pollution Index 2016 has ranked our city of dreams as the third most polluted city in the world.

It is strange to know that we are unable to breathe fresh air in Kathmandu. We can’t see but we suffer from cough and cold and in the long run from critical health problems including infection and pneumonia.

On top of that, infinite numbers of houses and buildings have been built rapidly. But people don’t realize that as their efforts to uplift their living standard, are minimizing their life expectancy than before.

There are no open spaces in Kathmandu; houses have covered every corner of the city and vehicles have covered every street polluting the environment even more. Nevertheless, spaces in Kathmandu are being narrowed and air heavily polluted constricting lives of those living here.

People migrate to the capital city seeking facilities, even if it means they have to sell their ancestral property or take huge loans. People come here to change their life style only to stack their dreams in the corner of a hospital.