As winter advances, Bhaktapur air worsens

KATHMANDU, Dec 14 - You may not believe that during winters the pollution level in the Bhaktapur Darbar Square reaches the same level as in Putalisadak. Moreover, as the winter sets in, Kathmanduites can expect the levels of pollution to rise in the valley.

According to Bhushan Tuladhar, Executive Director, Clean Energy Nepal, the Brick kilns, mostly situated in Bhaktapur area, are responsible for such high levels of pollution.

Most brick kilns in the Kathmandu Valley operate from the month of December till May. A study conducted by Clean Energy Nepal in Tikathali village of Bhaktapur in 2002 showed that during the brick baking season the concentration of particulate matter (particles most hazardous to health) is three times higher than during off-season.

Moreover, a World Bank study done in 1996 said that Kathmandu’s kilns are responsible for 31 per cent of the total suspended particles and 28 per cent of the particulate matter of 10 microns (PM10) in the Valley. There are currently 115 brick kilns operating in the valley.

This means the degradation in the quality of air will be experienced throughout the winter in the valley. Tuladhar said that the concern is primarily on the PM10 as they can enter the respiratory system. He said the contribution of brick kilns on PM10 was found to be 28 per cent higher than other sources.

International studies have found that increasing cases of bronchitis, asthma, decreased lung function, coughing and eye irritation are linked with deteriorating air quality. However, there are alternate brick making technologies available like fixed chimney kilns to reduce emission.

Chiranjivi Gautam, advisor at the Urban Environment and Air Quality Monitoring cell at the Environment Sector Programme Support of the Ministry of Population and Environment, said the government was considering changing the current moving chimneys to fixed chimney kilns.

Gautam said that a change in technology would considerably bring down the pollution level in the valley. He also said there was a need to train the people working in the brick kiln business to bring down the pollution levels.

A study conducted by TATA Energy Research Institute (TERI) in India indicated that simple improvement to kilns can save energy consumption by 20 per cent and reduce dust particles 10 times.

Tectonic movement causes erosion in Himalayas: research

Dec 12 - Geologists have found that erosion in the Himalayas is actually due to the ground movement rather than the climate. The recent findings that question the effect of precipitation on the mountains on erosion in the Himalayas have been published in this month’s issue of Nature, a noted science magazine.

D.W Burbank, of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of California, who headed the research in the Himalayan region, has found no significant link between precipitation and erosion in the Himalayas. The geologists have instead suggested upward tectonic (geological) movement as driving the erosion process.

Tank Ojha, working geologist, who was also a part of the research, told The Kathmandu Post that the studies began after the scientists wanted to further understand the erosion process in the mountains of Nepal.

“Was there a connectivity of the rate of erosion to monsoon or weather change? Is climate responsible for the rate of erosion in the regions of Nepal? These were some of the questions that needed to be answered,” said Ojha.

After signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the scientists placed 40 meteorological stations along the Marshyangdi River in 1999 to examine the erosion. The stations measured things like precipitation, air temperature and humidity.

“However, what was found was that in places where there was high precipitation, the erosion was less,” added Ojha. For instance, in regions like Dharapani to Chami, the yearly average rainfall is 125 millimetres while the erosion rate was measured to be six millimetres. However, in the lower Narayangadh area, the annual average rainfall is over 450 millimetres while erosion was two millimetres.

So what triggered the erosion? It was then that the geologists discovered that the trans-Himalayan ranges were more active than the lesser Himalayas. Previously, experts thought that the regions of the lesser Himalayas on the border area of the Indian peninsula were more active.
The groundbreaking findings have shown that it was this tectonic movement around the trans-Himalayas (higher Himals) that was resulting in erosion. The movement meant that the higher portion of the mountains was eroding because of the pressure of collision.

AIDS awareness still lacking among masses

KATHMANDU, Dec 1 - AIDS day was observed widely in the capital today, with banners carrying the message ‘Live and let live’ being seen on buses and a few other vehicles.

Different rallies were taken out by school children, people living with HIV/AIDs, social groups, government officials and non-government agencies. In the open theatre at the centre of the capital, a massive programme was organised.

Certainly, the message of AIDS went out to a large audience. However, did the message reach them all? Interestingly, at the corner of the open theatre a small group of men and women, mostly labourers gathered around a musical programme.

The latest Hindi hits blasted from inside the tent. Performers and dancers entertained the small crowd. This scribe went and talked to a few of the bystanders.

Most of them were aware about the big programme going on a few metres away, but were more interested in the musical programme at that small tent. Ironically, the men said they heard about AIDS but were not exactly sure how it spreads.

"I heard it spreads through unsafe sex," said 29-year old Rupak Bahadur Magar of Binayak Marg in Anamnagar, who said he had never used a condom during sex.

People do talk about using condoms for safer sex but I feel odd to use one," he said. Similarly, 31-year-old Hira Pariyar, a common labourer from Narayangadh working in Ason was unsure about AIDS.

"I know it’s a dangerous disease but I am not sure how it can be prevented," said Pariyar. "It must be something big because a lot of people have gathered here today." However, he did not show much interest in the AIDS programme being more interested in the dance show.

"I don’t know about AIDS or condoms. Don’t bother me," said a disgruntled Tek Raj Dhital, adding that he never used condoms, as he was sure he would not get the disease.

With recent UNAIDS/WHO statistics estimating that already 61,000 Nepalese are infected with HIV/AIDS such ignorance and lack of awareness among the public is of serious concern. Many experts say that if the public is not addressed through information campaigns and massive distribution of condoms, the HIV/AIDS epidemic could well be the leading killer by 2010.