Kirtipur

Kirtipur is an ancient city in Nepal. It is located in Kathmandu District of Bagmati Zone 5 km south-west of the Kathmandu. It is one of the five municipalities of the Kathmandu Valley.

Etymology

The name Kirtipur comes from Kirti (Glory) and pur (city). It is also said that once a queen named 'Kirti' ruled over this place so, it might have been named after same queen since 'pur' means city, and it states Kirtipur means city of 'Kirti'.

Demographics

Originally a Newari foundation, Kirtipur is still a centre of Newari culture. It has been merged with surrounding villages to form the municipality of Kirtipur with a population of around 50,000. But now, people of many cast and religion stay in this place. So it consists of many temples, Gumbas and Churches too. But there is no any clash between people in name of caste and religion.

History

In 1826 B.S. (Bikram Sambat) it was annexed to the Gorkhali kingdom of Nepal by King Prithvi Narayan Shah on his third attempt, after bribing the doorman of the city. After he did this, to spite the city of Kirtipur, he cut off the noses of all the men in the city.
This was the site of an inspirational peaceful demonstration of the people in the 2006 mass uprising that overthrew the powers of the king. It is considered to be an anti-monarchy city due to its bitter history against the Shah dynasty whose modern founder conquered the city insultingly, which was followed by negligence of the administration and development by subsequent rulers

References

Gopal Singh Nepal. The newars: An Ethno-Sociological Study of a Himalayan Community. Himalayan Book Sellers. ISBN.

The first Kirtipur women school

(Housewife) Woman School is the first female educational institution established by the chief members of Kipu Saving and Credit Co- Operative Society Ltd. in 2063. It lies in the heart of Kirtipur municipality which is located at Samal Dhoka, Kirtipur-6. This institution is mainly established to those women who were compelled to discontinue their study and to those who were unable to get education in their childhood due to the socio-economical or political problems and so on. It is a non-profit service oriented institution that constantly provides access to quality educational and career developing opportunities for the women or housewives.This institution has been providing a quality education in good learning environment to the participants since its inception. It is being a right centre of learning for adult women whichinspires them to learn many things in their daily lives. It also inspires the participants to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Many more women have not got opportunity to step in school's premise during their school age. They are not empowered sufficiently to contribute in national development effort being disadvantaged of women in our society in this century too. It is because of disparity mainly found in the case of gender. The cases of gender discrimination are found everywhere in spite of the question of their involvement in every

walks of life are needed. In our socio-economic structure women are ruined all the time in their domestic affairs however many of them can have leisure for certain time and use it to step along the ladder of formal education to accomplish the gate of higher education with these views to launch efforts along the path of empowerment and development, this school was established in 2063-10-9 to provide formal education with professional skill development training.

Objective of Kirtipur (Housewife) Woman School

This institution has the following objectives:

• Helping drop-outs and deprived women (esp. from education due to various reasons) by providing the opportunities to achieve secondary level education.
• Importing quality education to the participants in a good environment and to instill in them a sense of self-discipline and confidence so that they nature themselves into responsible and confident citizens of the country.
• Organizing different programmes to develop the participants or women's social status and to awaken them about the health education, woman and child rights.
• Examining the women's health regularly.

Initial stage of it

With the realization of the need of fema

le education, the members of Kipu Saving and Credit co- operative society Ltd. They Set up this school with fifty participants, three teachers and three rooms with no office. Some of the participants were from non-formal school who had already acquired basic things however; most of the participants were illiterate. They could neither write even a single letter nor recognize or read. The participants were divided into three sections of the same grade that was pre one. The participants were collected through the share holders or general members of the co-operative society.In the very beginning, the participants were taught to make circle, lines, "ka", "kha"... a, b, c, d, etc respectively. They hardly learnt them. Initially, the teachers felt how the participants would learn as they could not recognize the letters and couldn't memorize what they were taught. The participants took much interest in learning however. They got progress in their learning in no time. The students were evaluated orally and in written form and were  graded in every three or six months on the grounds of their interests, regularly and capacity.

All the participants had to pay for their study. They had to buy the necessary educational materials like books,  copies, pencils, etc themselves. The payment was reasonable. They were supposed to pay nominal charge. All the furniture needed for the school and other requirements were arranged by the co-operative society, itself. The main source of school was the participant's payment and the direct and indirect help of the co-operative society. On the course of time, Kirtipur municipality supported it financially to run continuously and academically.

Challenges

Everything is dynamic in this modern age. Every person or institution has to widen their thoughts, plans, etc to face any challenges. While conducting any program, a person or institution face different challenges. In the same way, this school has also been facing many challenges since its inception. It was a challenge for the members of this institute to set up this school. Most of the neighbors of the members of co-operative society and the teachers told them that they were gone mad and they were not working good social af fair instead they were trying to demolish the women of this society. They didn't care to the backbiters. They devoted their busy time to set up this school. It is gradually getting social fame, respect and status in no time.

Some more challenges:

• Giving access to education to all the illiterate woman of the community.
• Providing quality education in free of cost.
• Regulariging the participants.
• Providing access to education on the grouds of their interests, needs and level.
• Providing practical based classes such as computer class, etc.

Social reputation

Kirtipur Woman School, the only one woman school of the Kirtipur area, has been established as a model of woman school in this area. Initially the natives of Kirtipur who knew about the establishment of school used to  talk about and used to say to the participants sarcastically. Most of the participants used to come this school with their own interest and with their family's force. Some of the participants used to tell their friends or neighbors that they were going to market/ visit their relative/ office, etc as their friends or neighbors used sarcastic words to them if they happened to know that they were going to school. But with the time, the inhabitants of this area have realized the importance of education. Nowadays, they thank the members of co-operatives and the contributors-principal and teachers of this school. They are supporting to advertise the school and collecting the students.

Aim in future

With the constant determination, the school aims to provide higher secondary level education with vocational education and skill development trainings to the participants so that the students will achieve self-confident, self -reliant and get employment as per their capacity in the society or involvement in social works.

Present Condition

The present condition of this school is shown through the different aspects of the school.

1. Number of staff Six experienced energetic and qualified teachers including a principal are serving in different sectors to run whole academic activity. There is a non-teaching staff that helps to handle the other activities of the school.
2. Class Presently, there are six classrooms. The classes are being run from grade pre one to grade five. The school is planning to collect drop-outs to admit in lower and secondary level.
3. Curriculum and course book The government has not prescribed the curriculum for adult students. So, the school is using the same curriculum designed for community schools, by Janak Education Office Sano Thimi, Bhaktapur. Similarly, the textbooks are being followed on the basis of the curriculum. Besides these course books, we are also using the course book that is taught in non-formal education such as Nayan Goreto, Gaun Besi, etc.
4. Admission The women above 14 years are admitted on the basis of their certificates or elementary evaluation.
5. Academic year 3 months and 6 months programmes are taken as an academic year in the elementary level. As the participant moves to the grade like 3 or 4 or 5, a year programme is conducted.
6. Skilled- Based Education It is providing a skill based classes for the sake of producing self dependent students. For Example ; making hand bag and purse.
7. Extra-curricular Activities The school is conducting different programs such as inter -quiz contest, debate competition, drawings, cultural programs, etc to develop the student's personality. Similarly, the school is condcting different informative and knowlegeble programmes such as earthquake training, leadership training, etc.
8. Scholarship Helpless, dalits and poor students are provided full or partial scholarship.

Excursion It organizes excursion programmes to develop the participants' practical knowledge and skill progress.

Health Education With the co-ordination of Kirtipur Phect Hospital, Devdhoka , Kirtipur, it is conducting health classes related to women and child's health once a month regularly in the Phect hospital. Examination System Unit test, terminal examination, direct and indirect evaluation scheme are used time and again. The final written and oral examination are conducted at the end of the session or program.

Economic condition The chief sources of this school are the participant's payment and government aid through District Education Office, Tahachal. The financial contribution of this office also is supporting to run the whole academic activities. It financially got support from Kirtipur municipality a year and half year ago. Therefore, it could make the furniture and other necessities were fulfilled by the municipality's co- ordination. Similarly the kipu credit and saving co-operative Ltd. is still helping by providing building for its sustainability. Without these organizations, the participants and the contributors of this school, the school remains no more.

Achievements

• The participants are being able to speak to the teachers and to anybody else without fear and hesitation in Nepali language as most of the students are from Newar community.
• The participants are also being able to communicate in English a bit and can understand well if somebody speaks slowly using simple and colloquial language.
• The interests and abilities of the participants are not suppressed. They have an opportunity to develop their potential.
• The participants keen on drawing the pictures which was ignored by them in the beginning.
• The participants are gaining the experiences of student life which they lack in their school age.
• Among participants free and self reliant habit is being cultivated.
• The participants are not tied with strict rules and regulation. They are free. Some extra -curricular activities are run as their need and interests.
• Holidays are given on the grounds of the local affairs and festivals.
• It mainly focuses on group learning and learner centered method.
• The classrooms are decorated with print rich prepared by the participants themselves.
• Appropriate teaching materials are used for making teaching and learning effective.
• Participants are being able to read newspaper, magazine, etc. and get understand.
• The school is trying to provide technical based education such as computer class to the participants as it is the demand of the time.

Kirtipur Volunteer Society (KVS)

Kirtipur Volunteer Society (KVS), one of the social organizations, as usual is conducting "Career Hunt Programme" for SLC appeared students. This programme is a joint package of bridge course and extra activities courses which helps the students in developing their career. This year's "Career Hunt Programme" is third version of the yearly programme.

SLC is an "iron gate" between college and school where methods of teaching are completely different. This programme acts like bridge between school and college by giving ideas to adjust in college and teaching in both college's and school's environment. It also helps to get entrance in colleges because of academic package in which English, Science and Maths subjects are taught.

In spite of academic package, this programme also gives extra activities package which includes trainings and workshops in various topics like development concepts and practises, life skill development, adolescent health and gender, project proposal/report writing, communication skills and so on. It also includes career counselling and nature hikes, heritage walks, visits, water walks, etc. They all are taught and guided by various  professionals having great experiences.

Coordinator of the programme Sunita Manandhar says, "This programme is in fact a golden opportunity to SLC appeared students because it helps to adjust in colleges, 'hunt' career and most importantly increases level of confidence to expose themselves in front of others.

Water Resources of Kirtipur Municipality - A context with Erratic Rainfall

Two main sources of water are the springs at Dudh Pokahri and Sim Jhowahiti, which provide drinking water through a centralized piped water supply system with a capacity of 2200m3 per day for Dudh Pokhari and 1000m3 per day for Sim Jhowahiti (ICIMOD, 2003). An additional source at Lwangkot, which lies outside the municipal boundary in Machhengaun VDC, has a capacity of 1200m3 per day and serves the old core area of the municipality. A large number of households in the municipality still depend upon traditional water sources such as wells, stone spouts, springs and ponds. A study in 1999 showed that only 25% of households had piped water supply (www.earthscape.org). A number of  public taps have been constructed by the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) but there are still many areas that lack a drinking- water supply. Available water sources are not fully utilized. Due to this, different parts of Kirtipur especially Salyansthan is facing extreme shortage of drinking water.

The water sources in Kirtipur are in abundance with sufficient water production capacity. But there are still many areas in Kirtipur which lack drinking water supply. Many factors contribute to this problem. One of the major factors is its difficult terrain. It is difficult to distribute water in Kirtipur without pumping. The other reason is the insufficient capacity of the reservoir for storage. There is large wastage of water due to insufficient storage capacity. The supply is intermittent particularly during dry season (NSET, 2000). Besides these, the residents, located closer to the water source suggest that the total potentiality of water sources couldn't be estimated since 2-3 years due to less amount of rainfall. The less rainfall as well as lack of water storage for existing sources has negatively impacted the supply. The low or no rainfall in winter has caused the drying of wells and ponds, which has created a great water scarcity. The groundwater recharge is affected by low or no rainfall in winter. Groundwater sources are mainly used for domestic purpose. But when these sources couldn't be recharged, the communities' dependency springs increased, which are also flowing lower than in the past. Therefore, the shortage of water has increased over the years.

According to NSET (2000), the water consumption for domestic purpose in Kirtipur is 30-35 litres per capita per day (lpcd). If the water consumption for domestic purpose is allocated as 100 lpcd, the projected water demand for domestic purpose in Kirtipur Municipality for the year 2011 and 2021 will be as given in table. The table indicates the total water demand of Kirtipur will increase with the growth of population. It can be calculated that from by the year 2011 the water demand will increase by about 24% as against that of 2001 and by 33% in 2021.

Year	Gross Population	Water Demand(mld)
2001	38469	3.8
2011	47222	4.7
2021	57966	5.7

Shopping at Kirtipur could be fun

Kirtipur is on the way of searching its lost identity of the past and it got succeeded in some extent with Tribhuvan University in its lap. To make a race with already established city like Katmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur and what makes Kirtipur reserved were competitors are more superior to us. The emerging of Kirtipur out from Kathmandu is one of the big achievements for kirtipurians because prior to this, we were some where lost inside the Kathmandu. We were totally dependent to Kathmandu for our most of basic needs. There is less shops only and for small and small things we've to head for Katmandu. Now it won't be wrong, if we consider this as past scenario as time has changed and we were accessed with almost everything at our nooks and corners. Is it the sign of development? Don't know.

Dashain and shopping both comes together, hand by hand and absence of one couldn't explain others completely. Everybody loves shopping and of course me too. Shopping during Dashain, is it necessary or fashion? Don't know. During this Dashain I just visit almost every renowned shopping complex till my pocket support. With handful of bags in hands, shortly I realized something very unique and very special. What I did was very wrong, indeed. The same shopping could be done in Kirtipur why I m here in New road? The Zara collection, Chandan Stores, B.C. collection and some others are the name located at Kirtipur where we can find some better substitutes.

Before all this, while I was in lift of Bishal Bazaar I realized that I haven't got enough money in my wallet for shopping, oh god! And I planned to opt for my second option was to draw some money using my card. Dashain and ATMS counter in New Road, what to mention more, few of ATMs were already out of money and in some few, there were long queue. And I again I remember Kirtipur, if I was there for shopping I won't be with these sort of problems as there were 3 ATMs counter of three different banks form where I can simply draw my money without less effort.

With a great shopping and tired body we felt some hungry and decided to have something and while paying the bill, found that it's really very expensive as compared to our local restaurants. Our local restaurants like Namaste, dim light, pool side and may others, where we can simply get all the foods in reasonable price. I feel like, I loose more of my money.

I returned home with some joy and managed to look over my new jeans. But found defective piece and my all  joy go to water. It makes me upset and quickly planned to change that piece. While I was on the way to New Road, I again remember Kirtipur, if I had done my shopping at Kirtipur, it will be easier for me to change my defective piece so easily than in New Road. It's totally wastage of time and money off course for me.

During Dashain shopping in Kathmandu could be hard than expected. It is very difficult to get through by micro buses and even though, if we prefer bike there is lots of problem for parking and even though we were lucky in getting parking lot, for every parking we were charged Rs.10 per hour. One very thing we must notice was that there is lots of very chances to get certain stuffs cheaper in Kirtipur than in Kathmandu. This is all because the rent of the room is very less as compared to the room of renowned shopping complexes. With all these shopping at Kirtipur could be fun and I guess so.

There are some reasons to do shopping in Kirtipur. The rent of shops is far cheaper than Kathmandu. Most of the shop owners of shops are house owners also. Due to this they keep fewer margins which effectively reduce the cost. Other thing to notice is that most of the costumers are the students. So the price are kept according their budget. All these makes shopping in Kirtipur a better choice. Leather shoes and winter wares like jackets of Kirtipur are famous around Kathmandu due their durability and reasonable price. So I have changed my mind about shopping in Kathmandu. I will first search in Kirtipur and then only run towards Kathmandu. What about you?

Kirtipur Market – Your Shopping Destination

‘Easy shopping at great price’ is the tag line of Kirtipur Market. And as the tag line suggests, the market does make your shopping easier at reasonable price. Kirtipur market is the 1st grocery store in Kirtipur with home delivery service to save your valuable time and money, located in the centre of the town, Naya Bazaar (Bhajangal road). Its purpose is to eliminate all the countless hours we spend shopping for our groceries standing in line & fighting traffic. In just minutes we  can place our delivery order by phone @ 014334109, and have our groceries delivered right From the Store to Your Door!  It was started in 27 Aug. 2010 and is owned by a team of people who work in their respective fields of marketing, purchase, sales and delivery.

The market is an example of modern trade which allows you to purchase all the necessary items of daily use at the same place. It consists of a mini- vegetable market which sells different varieties of fresh vegetables. It also provides the facility of delivering goods at your doorstep, taking some extra charge. “This is an attempt to  introduce modern trade among Kirtipurians. Modern Trade can be defined as; customers can buy goods with their own choice of brand name, price and dates. The people here who were previously compelled to buy goods by traditional/ general trade are now pleased to find a store of this kind in Kirtipur itself. The students living here have also found the store very beneficial as it saves their time and money. Moreover, the Kirtipurians have welcomed this idea of trade,” says Bikas Dangol, the Marketing Head of Kirtipur Market. The market is going to open a fast food centre with the bakery items and a coffee shop in its near future. “To further facilitate our customers, we have also planned to sell the kitchen wares and casual wear at our store in the coming days,” adds Dangol.

Kirtipur market had provided some discounts on its goods at the festive seasons like Father’s day and Dashain. And this time for Tihar also, it has come up with an attractive scheme to sell its goods. It has planned for ‘‘Deusire Mela’’ at the market. There, people can find all the necessary ingredients for Tihar from sweets to fruits to garlands to many more. This Mela starts from the day of Laxmi Puja to Bhai Tika.

The market is open 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 8 p.m. Phone no. - 014334109

Brick Kiln and its Environmental Concerns in Kirtipur

Land used by brick factory in ward no. 19 of Kirtipur Municipality

Brick Kiln is one of the major ambient air polluting sources of Kirtipur Municipality. The western part of the hillock settlement of Kirtipur comparatively with less settlement density and higher agricultural land are fully covered by brick kilns. Brick manufacturers rent between 2 and 10 hectares of land from farmers to produce bricks. Bricks are produced during the dry season from December to May after the paddy is harvested. Farmers grow paddy in summer in the same land and rent it out to the potential brick factories instead of growing winter crop, which is compensated in cash by brick producers.

Factory uses the topsoil for the manufacture of brick. The workers in the factory are paid according to the number of bricks made. Therefore, there is a competition among the workers to produce maximum number of bricks and in turn has destroyed the top soil of farms in Kirtipur faster than would have been by other unsustainable land use practices. This has led to soil erosion and increased landslide vulnerability especially in the terraced land.

Some farmers estimate the loss of top soil has reduced summer crop production by about 50%. This loss could be prevented if the land is not leased to the factory; however, it seems not possible with the current market of bricks that pays relatively good amount of money as compensation for winter crops. In order to maintain summer crop yield farmers use heavy doses of chemical fertilizers, which is both expensive and also has negative impacts. The excess fertilizer enters the hydrologic system, resulting in water pollution and increasing concerns about the quality of drinking water, as well as the whole aquatic ecosystem. The areas used by the brick kiln have also resulted in other problems such as drying of wells, occurrences of landslides, and air pollution leading to poor visibility. The black soot and bad smell from the chimney create difficulty.

Commercial brick industries in Kirtipur started about 10-15 years ago. The number of kilns as well as the land used by them was very low in the beginning. However, they both have grown dramatically in recent years with visible impacts in the environment. A study carried out in 2008 showed that the Kirtipur area is already experiencing changes in rainfall, which has undermined farmers' ability to maintain seasonal farming. This indicates that people in Kirtipur will perhaps continue to suffer a significant loss in agricultural production in the coming days both due to human greed and natural reason.

Female education in kirtipur

Kirtipur's only school for women, Kirtipur (Housewife) Woman School, proves to be a boon for those who couldn't get an opportunity to study in the time when they were actually supposed to. The prominent reason for this is clear- they were female. The dogmatic concept that females are supposed to look after the households and should thus be deprived of education prevailed extensively at earlier times. Now, females too are getting equal exposures in the academic field. To learn more about this, we held an interview with some of the students and teachers of this school, where they shared why and how they were deprived of education, under what circumstances they studied and their views on tremendous changes in female education in Kirtipur.

"I was not sent school because I had my sisters and brothers to look after. While my father was trying to get me education, my mother seemed very reluctant. It is not so I never went school but every time I went; my mother would come to fetch me back, even during classes. I hardly appeared for one month in class two. So, to avoid this, my father decided to admit me in Laboratory Higher Secondary School, Kirtipur which was quite far from my house. I appeared in entrance examination with my cousin, Prakash Maharjan. Luckily, I passed but my brother became fail. It was against the rule that a female child studies in a nice school not her brother. So I was hindered to join", says Sumitra Maharjan, aged 46, a student of Woman School, who then couldn't continue her studies just because her brother failed. However, she is glad to continue her study in Kirtipur (Housewife) Woman School. Now a mother of two, she believes that there has been a remarkable change in the female education in this area. Similar was the case of another student studying here- Maiju Maharjan, aged 40, was not allowed to go to school since her mother forbade. They add, "Nowadays, parents are sending their daughters to school along with their sons. Not only are our daughters but also mothers like us getting chance to study".

Pushpa Laxmi Maharjan, aged 50, a teacher in this school tells that she was not allowed to continue her studies after her marriage. She too believes that nowadays females are being treated equally when it comes to get hold of education. Bindira Maharjan, a teacher in government school shares, "Due to the poor financial condition of their family, some of my young female students have to work to pay their school fees". The teacher, aged 27, however, considers that there has been progressive change in Kirtipur regarding female education.

Nevertheless, these ladies consider that it's harder for females to study freely like men because they also have to do their house chores whereas men have their sisters and mothers to work for them.