Where are Green Public Parks?

Cities Choking for Breath

With ever increasing population pressure in the urban areas of Nepal they are becoming an unhealthiest place to live.  Health statistics shows alarming raise in mental problems, depression, hypertension, heart and respiratory problems in all aged urbane. Open green space is a key contributor to quality of urban life which otherwise is highly stressed and unhealthy. Such open space or parks are needed to ensure that cities remain economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Such public parks with grass fields, shrubs, flowers and trees are not only for aesthetic beauty but it provides a social meeting place, relaxation spot, healthy love spot, light playing and exercise venue. Young can do jogging, elderly do yoga, retired can sit together with their colleagues improving community harmony and lovebirds can pass time lovemaking. Such parks will maintain oxygen in air and help to balance the ecosystem. It is also needed for soothing mental and social problems.        

The 2011 census report of Nepal shows that in 58 municipalities 4.5 million people are living which is 17% of the total population. A sharp increase in the urban population was seen in different census that shows a huge unmanaged population creeping to the urban areas without proper plans for drinking water, drainages, roads and greenery. Most of the existing municipalities have been classified urban merely from their population size and they lack planning of the basic requirements. Kathmandu Metropolitan City(KMC) which is the most resourceful, planned, cultured, historic, and being the capital city should be an exemplary city for emerging cities - is the most haphazard city. There are virtually no public open parks in KMC. In the early morning we can see Tudikhel hustling with the joggers and yoga followers. It is the only open public space to breath for most of the core city urbane. However, it is not a park. Ratnapark was smashed in the last few years. The remaining three public gardens: Balajupark, Tribhuvanpark and Sankhapark are serving this purpose a little however their size and location makes them less significant.

Open public parks are accentual part of any cities of the world. Our neighbouring countries India and China are not only developing in other socio-economic standards but also in urban greenery. Bangalore and Shanghai are the emerging green cities. In India, in the last decade, awareness for the need of green city has established ‘Park & Garden Society’ which is assimilated in the urban planning in such a way that in all new urban planning the green aspect is maintained. Delhi, is one of the oldest city in India with a population pressured of about 22million in 2011. Greater Delhi is ever expanding and currently it has about 297sqKm(sqKm) of green area. It is estimated that in Delhi 22sqm green space is available to each individual, on average. When I visited Delhi some years back I was surprised to find a park at every 5 minutes walking distance. Some of these parks were small of the size of Ratnapark and some like Swarna Jayanti Park were as big as 2.2 sqKm or about 5 times the size of Tudikhel. Gandinagar, the capital of Gujrat was modernized after independence. It has now 57% area covered with greenery. Similarly, the city of garden, Banglore city has more than 700 parks.

 

The little patch of land called Singapore has no water resource of its own so buys water from Malaysia.  It recycles and conserves almost all rainfall and water reserves. It is said that it makes no wastage of a single drop of water.  It was Lee Kuan Yew who in 1968 initiated the vision of Singapore as a Garden City that now through “Gardens by the Bay” project has changes the city which is now considered the greenest city of the world.  It has achieved this by improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emission, preserving biodiversity and increasing greenery at every possible place: on road, terrace, roof, and bay areas.

KMC is spread over 50 sqKm. Official source says in 2011, about 1 million population dwell here. However, unofficial sources have estimated that more than same numbers of additional people are always residing in the city as temporary dwellers. The city in addition to all other deteriorated standard for healthy living such as inadequate drinking water, dirty roads and polluting transportation have nearly exhausted all god-gifted natural resources. We have lost open spaces, green areas and natural water in rivers and ponds. It is the result of our greed and selfishness of thinking only about our family and not thinking about the larger community whose future is also associated with ours. KMC including Shankhapark, Balaju and Ratnapark have less than 2 sqKm of public green space. What is more frustrating is that in our ongoing urban development plans no such integration of environmental aspects is seen. Even the concept of ‘five trees per house’ seems another slogan among the many never implemented. We have recently seen many roads widen in KMC but there is no planning for making it green and healthy for road users. To resolve the continuously worsening problems of air, water and garbage, what we need right away is an integrated urban development approach with environmental protection as an inseparable constituent with special focus for public parks. To clean our body and mind we need one public park at each tole.