By: Laxmi Prasad Khatiwada

Kathmandu: Historic stonespouts in the Kathmandu are on the verge of extinction due to lack of proper conservation. Over 60 percent stonespouts in the Kathmandu Valley are at risk due to destruction of their water sources and increasing human encroachment. According to a recent survey conducted by NGO Forum for Urban Water & Sanitation, about 28 traditional stonespouts in the Kathmandu Valley have already disappeared. Similarly, water does not gush out of 33 stonespouts among the total of 159 stonespouts in the Kathmandu Valley, as shown by the survey.

“Stonespouts are in trouble due to increasing human encroachment and drying up of ponds and traditional rajkulos (royal canal),” said Prakash Amatya, Executive Director of NGO Forum for Urban Water & Sanitation, adding, “Many stonespouts have been turned into dumping sites.”
Amatya adds, “In some places, physical infrastructures are constructed over the stonespouts which has put the existence of stonespouts in dilemma. Amatya claimed that depletion of ground water level is another main reason for the drying up of stonespouts. According to a study conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2002, Kathmandu’s ground water level is sinking alarmingly at a rate of 2 metres annually. “Detection of arsenic in the water from deep tube-wells proves this,” Amatya said. The Local Self Governance Act 2055 has given the responsibility of conserving stonespouts to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) but the KMC has not done anything for the conservation of stonespouts. KMC has not even updated the statistics of stonespouts. “KMC shows concern only if anyone submit application. Communities have conserved stonespouts in many places,” said Narendra Raj Shrestha, Department Chief of Building and Heritage in KMC. “There are two kinds of stonespouts—government and community—in the Kathmandu Valley,” he said.
Last year, Kathmandu Declaration was issued for the conservation of stonespouts. The declaration states that government will implement necessary policy and allocate annual budget for conservation of stonespouts by declaring stonespouts as national heritage. “However, the government has not done anything despite signing in the declaration,” said Amatya. Sushil Shrestha, President of Historic Stonespout and Source Conservation Association suggests to conserve the sources to save stonespouts with archaeological importance and make strong laws to prevent encroachment.
“We have seen that Sundhara (a famous stonespout) in Kathmandu has dried up due to construction of the huge Kathmandu Mall. We should make laws to forbid construction of physical infrastructure around stonespouts,” Shrestha said. Bishnu Raj Karki, Deputy Director General at the Department of Archaeology, a responsible body for conservation and protection of stonespouts that are in use since the Lichhavi period, said that the stonespouts were neglected after people started to connect private taps in their own houses. “But, people have started to take the stonespouts as an alternative source of water once again after the private taps ran dry,” Karki said. Karki agrees on conservation of stonespouts by declaring them a national heritage. “The department is serious towards the dilapidated state of the encroached stonespouts but we have not been able to control it due to lack of resources,” said Karki. “A clear law is also needed for this,” he added.

Source: Nepal Samacharpatra, November 4, 2009