Castles In The Air

by KASHISH DAS SHRESTHA

FROM ISSUE # 69 (September 2001) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Mary had a little lamb…and they were both killed while trying to cross the road.

The government of Nepal started a project, almost immediately after democracy came to our country, a project that has proved to be quite important, valued and positively used in countries that have invested in similar projects. We are talking about the overhead bridges in parts of the city built to it convenient for pedestrians wanting to get to the other side as well as for people trying to drive on the road. But really, how effective has the bridge really been? If you give it a brief thought, the bridges have worked more as a "banner to end all banners", an elevated park or even a hawker's paradise. People have made it a spot to wile away their time gazing at people trying to cross the road below. This is especially more fun in the cold season where you can completely enjoy the sun.

But hey, enough sarcasms already. People haven't just been setting up watch and stationary showrooms on these bridges, some are actually trying to make use of it by attempting to get to the other side. But what about the others? Why do people still prefer to confuse the already confused traffic of Kathmandu by crossing the roads from under the bridge? We spoke to such few and this is what was revealed to us: "It's just too much work to cross the road," said he, while, "it saves time to cross it from the road itself than climbing the bridges and all that," said she. But there are quite a few people who use these bridges because "it's safe" and "the road is too crowded with vehicles."

Are we foolish, or just plain lazy? The overhead bridges should be considered a boon and not a bane. The government has been spending money, via NTV, on public messages about the use of these bridges whereas the targeted audience seems unaffected.

Basically there are two benefits of using these bridges: It works as cause and effect; you use the overhead bridge because that might save your life from a driver, who is probably too irritated with the increase in traffic. As if the unpredictable stops of the Safa tempos and micro buses aren't frustrating enough. We'll get into that later.

If these bridges weren't useful, why would the government spend so much money to build them? (20 lakh rupees for a 2 legged ones, 35 for 3 legged and 50 for those with 4 legs.) Oh wait. That question could make me sound stupid. But on this one, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt. The bridges do have a purpose to serve and they are very important in our city where the number of people and the number of vehicles are on such a sharp rise. We the so-called learned and educated, who can read this English magazine, just have to stop being ignorant and make use of these bridges. It's not for people to climb and breathe the rising smoke from the traffic below while they chew on their bhatmas and chana. Use them while you still have the chance, before there is a large debate on the existence of these bridges, which might result in no bridges at all. If we don't make use of what's there for our convenience then what's the purpose for building them in the first place? They might just be mere castles in the air, and the air ain't all that good either.