The Lazimpat area of Kathmandu includes the only major northwards running road in the city. Co-incidentally it is where I live. It’s a pretty vibrant community, full of local shops. At the beginning of January, numbers started to appear on the walls of buildings all along the road. They represent the distance from the pavement that the road is going to be widened. The land on either side of the road is Government land, and as such many of the buildings on either side are deemed to have been illegally erected, or of a temporary nature. (Temporary in this case being over 30 years). Its difficult to get the full picture of what the legal position is, and frankly planning and building here is pretty much unregulated…or so it seems.
+ 7.35M... John Callaway 2012
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of this, it doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s going to happen to the shops, and therefore the businesses and livelihoods of those who own and work in them. [Just a though, but maybe the money spent on road widening could be spent on traffic management, and encouraging people to stay on the right side of the road…]
The writing is on the wall... John Callaway 2012
Not that the locals are taking this lying down and as the bulldozers moved in yesterday, the protests have started… and if this is the armed police presence necessary before the demolition reaches the main part of Lazimpat, it may well get interesting…
Lazimpat. John Callaway 2012
Ideas & images from Portsmouth and beyond 
February 5th, 2012 at 09:40
I liked the first picture most, also good story.
February 5th, 2012 at 10:04
Progress is relative.
I hope you keep us updated.
i bookmarked your blog and will come back to it.
It is sad that this thing called progress always seem to crush the little woman and man.
February 6th, 2012 at 06:06
Seems very similar to here! Love the black and white shot of the Police.