Support to open space development at Sankhamul

Open spaces can be utilized as recreational places during normal situations and provide shelter during emergencies. Open spaces are getting scarce in urban areas, especially in Kathmandu and Lalitpur Metropolis, where buildings have overcrowded the cities. Due to population densification and land encroachment, many of the previously existed open spaces have already been disappeared or are very limited. The necessity of free space is felt more after the earthquake in 2015. During the 2015 earthquake, many people took shelter in all available open spaces. The Kathmandu Valley lies in a seismic-active zone and recurrent disaster area; therefore, there is an immediate necessity to manage and develop open spaces for the people to take shelters during disasters. Disasters such as urban floods and fire incidents are likely to increase annually due to climate change and other natural and anthropogenic factors. Ward number nine of Lalitpur Metropolitan City has established a multipurpose open space in Shankhamul with financial support from the Lalitpur Metropolitan City Office and ISET Nepal. The open space provides shelter during emergencies and serves as a venue for mourning rituals for Ward number nine.

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