These days Kamal Lama has been working on the footpaths at Jamal. He and his laborer's team of five will probably have to toil the entire week to finish that one lane and to make matters worse, he is certain that eventually all their hard work will probably go to waste.
"The Melamchi water pipes have not been installed around this area. I can't tell you when but I am sure another group of contractors will plough through this very path we are working on. This has happened before as well. I helped lay the tiles at the Singha Durbar side last year, today as you can see, it has all been destroyed. If I were to be honest, I don't know what they are doing. But I get paid to do this work so I don't ask questions," says Lama.
But queries do arise. Anybody who is keeping tabs of the never ending road construction work around the city naturally feels exasperated. On hearing about the particular case in Jamal, Rupa Pradhan, a resident of the area simply asks, "What is the point? Why continuously make the public go through such inconveniences?"
As it turns out, Raman Constructions Pvt. Ltd is actually carrying out the project in Jamal to make the footpaths friendlier for differently-abled citizens. It's a part of their 'pedestrianization project' that they have been carrying on around specific areas of the valley. Ashim Lal Joshi, site engineer of the company, rightly points out that these projects are an important part of the country's infrastructure development. However, he also admits there is a possibility that the Melamchi pipelines will probably cause their newly restored footpaths to be dug up once again.
"What with so many projects from Melamchi, sewage to even plans of underground telecom lines being implemented through various channels, it's hard to coordinate for all parties. Not that we haven't tried. Our initial three months were spent holding several meeting with as many water pipeline contractors as possible. Our plan was to follow them. This has been successful in various cases but every now and then there are instances like Jamal," shares Joshi.
He cites the timeline of the project as one of the biggest hindrances. Projects like theirs tend to have one or two years' timeline whereas many other projects have five year's time period. Thus while Joshi's team are in a rush to complete, the other parties often take their own sweet time to get around to finishing up their jobs.
At the moment, the best Joshi can hope for is that only some parts of the newly constructed Jamal footpath will be taken down for the Melamchi pipelines. As far as loss of money, time, resources and efforts are concerned, he can only shrug. But it's not that coordination is proving challenging for them alone. Construction companies who have taken upon the contracts to install or reinstate water pipelines and sewage drains are struggling on a larger scale.
Binod Subedi, the administrator at Sharma & Company Pvt. Ltd gives an example. "We were working on the Melamchi lines in Dhobikhola. It all went smoothly but two to three months later, I saw that the road was being dug again. Apparently they had started work on the sewage drains. Our consultants and Project Implementation Directorate (PID) coordinate with the concerned department but this kind of mismanagement and coordination problems have been plaguing us. Now we have to dig around the Dhobikhola area again to check for leakage," says Subedi.
It's no wonder that we find the roads of our capital in total disarray. There are numerous projects, being carried out by multiple companies and departments. Each, as we can see for ourselves, is running at their own pace. But it's not that the advantage of effective coordination hasn't crossed their mind, it seems they haven't been able to efficiently carry it out on a large scale. They have all had experiences similar to that of Joshi and Subedi.
"If the foundation of the plan is flawed to begin with, the execution is obviously going to have its share of problems. But again, better late than never. Many projects still have some years left and there are still many areas that are yet to be worked on so the responsible bodies can begin anew with a clear vision and most importantly, unison. We, at the ground level, have no choice but to look up at them," says Joshi.
Them here would be the Department of Roads, Kathmandu Metropolitan office and Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport Project (KSUTP). Each department has different areas and projects under their jurisdiction. It is sort of the reason why Deepak Shrestha, project director at KSUTP, doesn't know why the roads leading to his own office at Baber Mahal have been left half way through the construction process.
"I remember the Department of Road was ready to pave this area with asphalt but just then they found out that the sewage pipes had yet to be installed. It's been two years now. There are a number of huge pipes lying around our locality but there is no sign of any work starting anytime soon," shares Shrestha.
He may be directing similar road and traffic related projects in other areas but the road that leads to his office is not his responsibility. So he doesn't know the reasons behind the delay. He hasn't even inquired which department or company should be overseeing the road construction of the Baber Mahal area.
It's apparent that the involvement of various departments is hindering rather than helping the implementation and the coordination of the plans. Suraj Sigdel, from Department of Roads also involved in KSUTP, assures us that there have been many meetings and discussion concerning the issue. "We acknowledge the need for better coordination. But there are many components that need to be worked out. Each department is running with their own projects and we must factor in things like loan agreements, tenders and timelines. There is a need to overhaul the whole system that we have been working with," explains Sigdel.
Shrestha adds, "It would be easy if we had a local body like a mayor who would hold the responsible authorities accountable or as is the system in many other countries we too could organize a public works department, where representatives from various ministries work together. This would automatically solve the coordination problem. But again, these reforms will take time. They come from the top down."
Seeing the glaring inconsistencies in the all important coordination and its devastating repercussion; the problem surely warrants urgent action. As it is people have already started wondering: Will we ever be able to walk on Kathmandu roads again?
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