KATHMANDU – The Kalanki-Koteshwor stretch of the ring road is being expanded with the assistance from Chinese government. But the government has failed to focus on roadside tree planting and its environmental benefits.
A monitoring done by Department of Forest Research and Survey done on July 4 at Koteshwor-Kalanki road section concluded that it wouldn’t be possible to plant trees on the island between the road dividers. It was said that trees will planted at the road island within August 3 as part of the Grand Environment Campaign, 2075.
Now it would not be possible to plant trees at the road dividers as concrete blocks have already been placed at some place, said Department Deputy Director General Dr Yagyanath Dahal.
He said the department doesn’t have the budget to remove the blocks placed at ring road. The department had a plan to plant trees in big plant pots and Bermuda grass on the road islands between the lane dividers.
“But the greenbelt was destroyed during the road expansion due to lack of coordination,” he said. “We have also informed the ministry about the conclusion drawn by the department after monitoring.” He said the plantation can only be taken ahead by removing the concrete dividers placed between the main road and service lane.
Only Balkhu-Koteshwor section has completed until now as part of the ring-road improvement drive initiated in 2013. The underpass connecting Balkhu to Kalanki has reached the final stage. The 10-km stretch of the ring road has worn a deserted look because of the mistake in ‘drawing and design’ of Koteshwor-Kalanki road. Earlier, the ring-road had 20meter green belt on each side of the road. Over 1200 trees were felled for the road expansion.
Environment Expert Bhusan Tuladhar lamented that there is no space for planting greenery in the ring-road. “The failure to plan roadside greenery has not only reduced the city’s beauty but will also increase pollution,” he said. He said various studies have shown the road-side trees can reduce up to 25 percent of pollution. “We missed the chance to alleviate the pollution by planting trees on the side of roads,” Tuladhar said.
The Department of Roads, Deputy Director General at Foreign Division Sanjaya Shrestha said the tree plantation would only possible after the Chinese company handed over the road project to Nepal government after completion. He said the mistakes in the project would be rectified later so it wouldn’t be possible to plant trees now.
