As we pass through Lazimpat, besides the jolting ride, the struggle to escape the suffocating dust is exhausting. Many have even termed the scene as somewhat similar to a war zone. The unsightly demolished streets that are yet to be blacktopped and bulldozed pavements covered with piles of debris are an everyday hassle in many other areas as well. This situation thus makes one question: “Is this how a capital city supposed to be like?”

When the road widening project was initiated in 2011 under the then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s leadership, it received many positive and negative feedbacks. Though the project has resulted in smoother and wider roads in a few areas like Baluwatar and Kamal Pokhari, a few other places like Lazimpat have been left unattended for far too long. 

The stretches expanded as part of a road-widening initiative are in bad shape because of delay in reconstruction works. According to Krishna Hari Baskota, secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, government authorities have blacktopped valley roads with the total length of 43.025 km since the beginning of a road-widening initiative in the Kathmandu Valley.