As 27 days are due for the election to the State Assembly, the 71,201 voters at Constituency no 10 in Kathmandu district are eagerly waiting for the day to cast their ballot to the candidates who pledge to help address their pressing problems- dusty roads and polluted air.
The constituency covers areas including Kirtipur, Dakshinkali municipality, and wards no 2 to 11 wards of the Chandragiri municipality.
The locals here, having borne the brunt of the environmental degradation and its repercussions emanating from the poorly managed seven kilometers road along the Kalanki-Naagdhunga stretch and traffic, have made up their mind to vote to the candidate addressing these issues.
'We have been suffering from polluted air and dusty roads for nearly a decade. Many shoes have been worn out during this period and the issue was brought to the notice of many leaders over the years but to no avail," lamented an irate elderly local, Rajesh Nakarmi.
The 71-year-old, who is going to cast his ballot in the upcoming election of the State Assembly, shared," I will vote to the candidate who pledges to give us clean air and road."
The locals here, fed up of the cavalier attitude of the authority to fix these tooting problems, have sarcastically vent out their ire by putting banners along the roadside in different places that read-" How long to inhale dust and smoke? Oh politicians, how long will you politicize on this road?"
It takes hours to cross seven-km of road due to the poor condition of the road that lies in the major entrance to the Kathmandu Valley.
The management of this road has long been figured in the manifesto of the candidates vying the upcoming election as in the manifestos of the candidates who contested the first and the second constituency election in 2008 and 2013.
Nepali Congress's youth leader Rajendra Kumar KC (Rajan) had defeated CPN (Maoist Center) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal by thumping majority during the last Constituent Assembly election while the former had conceded defeat from the latter in the first CA election.
NC has fielded KC, who is also the Minister for Youth and Sports, while left alliance has chosen Hitman Shakya to vie in the election.
Either of these candidates will be elected through the election and either of these two candidates will have to offer the voters here a respite from the dusty roads and polluted air.
Minister KC, who has already launched election campaign, asserted,"I am confident of winning the election as the public here have been with me through thick and thin. This election is a battle between democracy and communism. I am confident people would choose democracy and NC."
Leftist alliance's candidate Shakya was also equally confident of his success in the election. He said," Democracy will not be at stake rather it would be further strengthened."
