Monsoon in Nepal: enjoyable or troublesome?

Sipping on a cup of hot coffee with fried pakodas while old Nepali or Hindi songs play in the background or I read novel, is what I think monsoon is about. But monsoon in Nepal doesn’t end there. There is one monsoon inside our homes while we can see a whole different monsoon outside.

Monsoon in Nepal is a beautiful and enjoyable season, but as soon as we have to leave the home, its a melancholy to see the disastrous outcome of monsoon. The sound of rain is relaxing and soothing, but, the same rain at 5 in the morning is also what demotivates students to wake up for their morning classes. And surely no one wants to wear freshly-ironed cloth only to walk through a muddy road or an alley.

For the better road facilities, Nepal Government had purposed a project to expand the roads of Kathmandu Valley in 2013. A project still going on today, in 2018, in various parts of the Valley coupled with another project of laying water pipelines for Melamchi drinking water supply, also going on for the past few years.

Due to the road expansion project, struggle during monsoon is not just limited to those on foot. People with vehicles face even more struggles. Because of incomplete road expansion, construction vehicles spend more time on road, which causes traffic jam, accidents, so on and so forth.

Both of the projects are for the benefits of the Nepali citizens, helping to make their living easy. However, all these works of development are affecting the people adversely, throughout the year. Yearly, as many as 35,000 people lose their lives due to air pollution, that’s according to a research by Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) of 6^th March 2018. Kathmandu in 2017 topped the list of 7^th most polluted cities in the world according to Numbeo.

And during monsoon, problems due to poor drainage arises and there is unsafe drinking water supply. And prices of fruits and vegetables hike more than normal. Bouddha Stupa is one of the religious places of Nepal and one of the favorite destinations for both domestic and international tourists. But when it rains, the area is flooded making it impossible to walk around.

People blessed with homes can at least sleep soundly during rainfall whereas people living on streets are bound to live in places with no or less protection from rain.

Every monsoon in Nepal, there are also more cases of water borne diseases probably because of bad drinking water supply. Human body functions according to the climate, and scientifically it makes people feel low. It causes mood swings and we can see other physical changes too.

I would like to request Nepal Government to complete all projects soon and help Nepali people live an easier life. Our country has both natural and man-made beauty, hence, it is one of most favorable destinations in the world. With more planning and facilities for the tourists, the quantity of domestic and international tourists will surely increase. It will also help the country developed economically.

Also it’s my request that they propose plans to restore damages caused to many heritage sites during 2015 earthquake. Such monuments carry history of Nepal but during monsoon, chances of them getting more damaged is high so we need plans to preserve them before we can’t retrieve any of its glory in the future.

Nevertheless, everything has its own advantages and disadvantages. Monsoon is the best time for farming, our source of food, and it also helps the country economically. Monsoon also restores many natural water resources.

We human always seek for easier, beneficial ways to live. During tough and hard times, we pray for better days. But summers are now even hotter and winters are colder. And in spite of all the bad sides, I still find monsoon in Nepal beautiful. It will, for me, always be the season for cup of coffee in my cozy room.

Submitted by — Mariyam Dhuju